


Ever After

by Lila11



Series: Too Many Clocks, Too Little Time [5]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: A little bit of humor is always good, And of course fluff, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Let's continue this Minayeon x Cinderella universe shall we, There will still be some angst, There'll be some new characters, There'll be some old characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28768179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lila11/pseuds/Lila11
Summary: They survived the uncertainties of being in a long distance relationship—proven that with enough effort and trust from both parties, it could actually work. But what happens when Nayeon moves back to Seoul just as Mina starts preparing for a world tour?Talk about timing, huh?Or,The Cinderella sequel—story picks up a few months after Cinderella’s epilogue/Twelve Past Midnight’s chapter 3.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina
Series: Too Many Clocks, Too Little Time [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933840
Comments: 142
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ^_^  
> Unbeta-ed and a reminder that this is just an AU. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

The glorious hue of pinkish orange sky just happens to be the best way to cap off this amazing Hawaiian weekend. Red and white rose petals were carefully scattered all around the sands. The sound of the Pacific waves softly crashing into the beach—mixing so well with the string quartet playing in the background—soothes everyone's emotions.

But nothing compares to the overwhelming emotions that two hearts feel at the moment—standing under a floral canopy, in front of all 250 guests, holding each other’s trembling hands, ready to start the rest of their lives together.

“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” 

“Yes, I do.” An answer full of conviction.

The wedding officiant smiles, and turns to the bride. “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” An answer full of certainty.

“By the authority vested in me by the State of Hawaii, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss—”

The wedding officiant hasn’t even finished her sentence, and the newly-weds are already kissing. The beach erupts with cheers, and applause, and laughter. 

"—the bride." The officiant shakes her head as she finishes her line—for legal purposes.

The newly-weds share a long embrace before facing their guests. Jinyoung excitedly throws victory punches in the air—like a guy winning a lottery. He turns to his little sister, and gives her a tight hug. 

“I’m so happy for you.” Nayeon whispers to him. 

“Thank you.” Jinyoung kissed her forehead. “Love you, Nayeonnie.” 

On a normal day, Nayeon would’ve rejected this display of affection from the older Im, but it’s his wedding day. And wedding days tend to get everyone feeling extremely mushy.

She watches as the newly-weds strut down the sandy aisle, stopping to thank other guests from time to time, until her eyes land on a Japanese girl (who just took a polaroid photo of her).

It wasn’t really a surprise when Mina came wearing a black off shoulder dress that hugs her body in all the right places—it’s a custom she’s gotten used to attending many weddings back in Seoul. The surprise was that the other guests didn’t seem to mind, and everyone was more curious about the fact that this is the first time they’ve ever seen the younger Im’s _friend._

Mina flashes her signature gummy smile. She’s pretty sure that her Korean love can tell that she’s just cried. 

Because that’s what you do at weddings, right? Witnessing two people declare their endless love for one another, in front of the people that love them. Why wouldn’t that bring tears to anyone’s eyes? 

“Are you okay?” Nayeon had approached her. “Aww, did you cry?”

“They wrote beautiful vows.” Mina nods, sniffing.

“They did.”

Mina tucks a few loose strands behind Nayeon’s ears, running a thumb on the latter’s cheek. “You look cute with your little bridesmaid bouquet, Ms. Im.”

“I do, don’t I?”

“Yeah, you do.” 

“Want to get out of here?” Nayeon steps closer to whisper, making sure to have her lips lightly touch her girlfriend’s ear.

Mina immediately feels goosebumps run down her spine, but she must control her breathing. She must not cave in. She must _not_ let Nayeon win this little game they always play. 

“It’s Yong oppa’s wedding.” 

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. We can just, you know... _whoosh_ ” Nayeon runs her fingers on Mina’s arm, showing off the aegyo she’s mastered that almost makes Mina cave in. Almost.

“No.” Mina didn’t cave in. “And besides, my parents like to get a photo with you and the newly-weds.” 

***

Jinyoung’s only wedding request was for his sister to sing for his and Kelly’s first dance. 

_“I’d be upset if you didn’t ask me to.”_

And Nayeon knew exactly what song her brother’s going to ask her to sing—since she practically grew up walking into the couple making out in their den, watched them break up more than three times, and cried when her brother finally proposed. 

A song that tells the story that even after everything they went through, they’d still go back to the one they really belong to—each other.

Ain’t nothing better

We beat the odds together

I’m glad we didn’t listen

Look at what we would be missing

Watching Nayeon sing never fails to amaze Mina. The way Nayeon has her eyes closed half the time, singing with all her heart. The way her voice would break, trying to stop herself from crying—because Nayeon still hates crying in public. The way she’d meet Mina’s gaze in the crowd, as if she’s singing directly to her. Everything about Nayeon still excites the KPop Idol. 

They said, “I bet they’ll never make it”

But just look at us holding on

We’re still together

Still going strong

_You’re still the one. You’ll always be the one._

***

The wedding reception continues with more music played by the hired band—at the request of the bride and groom. Guests catching up with one another—most conversations revolve around their businesses. And everyone’s just enjoying this lovely Hawaiian evening.

Nayeon was looking out the balcony, deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the Japanese girl sneaking up behind her.

“Dance with me?" Mina whispers to a startled Nayeon.

“Hey.” 

"I got tired of waiting for you to ask me to dance, so here we are.”

“Ooh, someone’s impatient.” Nayeon teases, letting Mina pull her to the middle of the dance floor. 

“Not as impatient as you. I saw your tweet." Mina winks. "We’ll leave as soon as we finish this dance, how about that?”

“Works for me.” Nayeon grins. 

Mina guides Nayeon’s arms, allowing her to drape them around her shoulders, and they start to slow dance.

A familiar melody begins to play, and the smug look on Mina’s face tells Nayeon that she’s behind this. _Our first dance._ Nayeon starts humming along with the music, just like how she did back in that basement years ago. 

“You’re so beautiful." She breathes out. "And everyone was asking about you. You know, who you are, if you’re single...”

“I hope that _this time_ you told them I'm with you.” Mina hands rest on the small of Nayeon's back.

“Ah-huh.” Nayeon nods, leaning her head on Mina’s shoulder to avoid her gaze.

The Japanese girl chuckles, shaking her head.

Nayeon would always do this. She would always make sure to protect their privacy. She'll go as far as telling people they work together just for them to stop asking about Mina.

“You told them I’m a Japanese colleague you work with from Seoul, didn’t you?”

Nayeon straightens up. Exhales. “It’s the safest choice.” Was her defense.

“Well, do colleagues kiss like this?” Mina tightens her hold on Nayeon’s waist, and leans in for a searing kiss. She was just supposed to tease her girlfriend. (This was the third—no, fourth time that the Korean girl did this.) But feeling Nayeon’s lips moving against hers ignites excitement. Knowing that the girl doesn't like PDAs, but isn’t pulling away is a very rare occurrence—so an opportunity that Mina will definitely grab.

Pretty sure everyone saw that.

Pretty sure everyone now knows that the beautiful Japanese guest is not single. 

Pretty sure everyone now knows that she’s with Nayeon.

“Wow,” Mina said as she slowly pulls back. “You didn’t pull away.”

Nayeon blushes, realizing what they’ve just done in front of more than a hundred people. “It’s the wedding fever and you know, all this love in the air.”

“Right.” Mina rubs her nose against her girlfriend's. 

They stayed like that for a few moments—completely ignoring the way other guests are looking at them. Watching them. They're in their own little world. Just the two of them. 

"Excuse me." Jinyoung interrupts the love birds. “Mind if I steal her away for a sec?”

Mina smiles politely at the older, _newly-wed_ Im. “No, not at all.”

“No, no," Jinyoung stops Mina from walking away. "I was actually asking Nayeonnie.”

“Oh," Nayeon frowns, taken aback, wondering why her brother wanted to dance with her girlfriend. "Okay, I guess.”

The Korean girl slowly backs away as Jinyoung winks, knowing full well that his little sister's brain is already going overdrive.

***

“What was that for?" Sana asked as soon as she saw Nayeon walking towards their table. "Are you two trying to stir something up?” 

“What are you talking about?” Nayeon asked while taking a glass of champagne from a waiter passing by.

“That kiss." Dahyun pointed out. "In the middle of the dance floor. Right in front of everyone's salads.”

“Yeah, you don’t normally do PDAs.” 

“Exactly.” Dahyun nods, agreeing with Sana.

“I don’t know. It’s the wedding fever, I guess.” Nayeon takes a sip of the champagne, sitting in between her best friends.

“Oh, well, that could be it.” Dahyun shrugged.

Sana side-eyed the younger Korean. “Hey Dahyunie, are you feeling the wedding fever too?”

“No, just the fever.” Dahyun huffs. It’s true. The youngest of the Trio had been feverish since she arrived in Hawaii. It’s probably the sudden change of weather—from a cold rainy Seoul to a warm sunny Honolulu. 

"You poor baby. Anyway…" Sana nods then turns back to the interior designer. “Seriously, Nabong, I know we have the whole resort to ourselves, but some people might still recognize Mitang.” 

“She’s actually right. Anyone _can_ still recognize her. Our company did the U.S. ads for their world tour. We made sure to have a lot of screen time with each member.” 

“No, no. We just got caught up in the moment, that’s all." Nayeon takes another gulp of her drink. "And I don’t think she’s _really_ ready to go public.” 

“But you guys have talked about it, right?" Sana carefully asks. "Going public?”

“Yeah, many times. I told you guys already.” 

“More like you screamed about it in our GC.” Dahyun reminded her.

“Whatever. The point is she doesn’t want us to be outed the same way Dispatch outed that other idol last month.” 

“Who? Dispatch outed a lot of idols last month.” 

“Uh, what’s her name?” Nayeon scratches the tip of her nose, thinking. “The one they caught on an evening stroll, uh…”

Dahyun snaps her finger, and points. “Lisa.”

“Yeah, Lisa.” 

“Dispatch did her dirty.” Dahyun shakes her head.

“Ugh, _so_ dirty." Sana rolls her eyes. "But karma’s a bitch, you know. Their article came back and bit their asses.”

“Yeah, I never thought I’d see the day when my homeland would be open about it. Times have changed, huh?” 

“But still, I don’t want that kind of _announcement_ for us _._ ”

“Of course.” Sana reaches out to rub her best friend’s hand. “Do it at your own pace.”

“Have I told you that I bumped into her—Lisa—at SoBa?" Nayeon remembers the girl wearing a modernized hanbok. "She’s pretty.”

“Didn’t she train at JYP too?" Sana turns to the younger Korean. "Dahyunie?”

“Oh right, she did. She said it in one of her interviews. Around the same time as Mina and the rest of her members… I think.” 

"Ah…" Nayeon nods in understanding. "That’s probably why Mina got worried when we saw the article.”

A waiter arrives, bringing Dahyun’s hot coffee, and Nayeon bites her lips to stop herself from teasing her best friend.

There was no need for a _designated driver_ tonight, but the younger Korean decided to only have two glasses of Moscato. After all, she’s sick. She figured drinking too much won’t make the fever go away.

Their flight back to Seoul is at 6:45 the following morning, and someone needs to be sober since Sana’s already on her sixth glass of wine—after several vodka shots. (Sana’s alcohol tolerance had changed _so_ much over the past couple of years.) 

“Anyway, you guys are staying here for a few more days, right?” 

“Yeah. Three.” Nayeon nods at Sana. 

“So, are you—are you going to do it?” Dahyun asked quietly, nudging her best friend’s shoulder, giggling.

“I—huh,” The interior designer exhales. “I don’t know.” She whispers. “Don’t you think it’s too soon? I mean, I _just_ gave her a promise ring.”

“Yet you got an engagement ring as soon as you got back from Greenland.”

Sana leans in, completely ignoring Dahyun’s comment, and whispers to Nayeon. “Do _you_ think it’s too soon?”

Nayeon shakes her head tentatively. She looks back up to subtly search for Mina, and finds her still talking with her brother. It seems that the Myois have also joined in the conversation.

“Then just do it.” Sana urged her. “You don’t have to plan every single thing you want to do. Sometimes you just got to be spontaneous.”

“What if she says no?”

“What are you even talking about?” Dahyun also leans in. “You tell her to jump, she’ll ask how high.”

Nayeon and Sana frown at the younger Korean.

“You know what I mean.” Dahyun added after seeing the funny way her best friends are looking at her.

The three of them look very suspicious—all cuddled up at the table, whispering, and looking over their shoulders for eavesdroppers.

_Being subtle is really not this Trio’s strongest suit._ Mina slowly makes her way to their table. 

She doesn’t want to interrupt whatever plans these girls are brainstorming about, though she does have a feeling that her girlfriend’s up to something. She thinks she knows what’s coming—especially after that conversation with Jinyoung—but she really hopes she’s wrong. 

After all, Nayeon _just_ gave her a promise ring.

***

The lovebirds decided to stay on the island for three more days after the wedding—maximizing the vacation Mina was given before their world tour prep starts.

The sunlight’s slowly creeping in to the room, and a kaleidoscope of colors bounces off the wall. Nayeon walks out of the bathroom in her soft robe, pulling her hair up in a messy bun. She leans on the door frame, smiling at her sleeping girlfriend covered in thick fluffy blankets. 

_She’s so beautiful._

_She looks so comfy._ Watching every rise and fall of Mina’s chest, listening to the light snores coming out of her pretty lips.

 _Ugh, so fucking beautiful._ She’s still amazed at the fact that this beautiful, kind hearted girl—that she’s head over heels for—loves her back. It’s something she’s probably never going to get over.

Then she catches the time.

7:39 AM.

They’ve booked an activity at around 11 AM, time to wake sleeping beauty up.

“Minari” Nayeon singsongs as she carefully crawls on the bed, pulling the covers away from Mina’s face. 

Mina stirs, and mumbles. “Heymrrm…”

“Hey you…” Nayeon places soft kisses on the Japanese girl’s face. “Wake up…” Kisses Mina’s eyelids. “Sleepyhead…” Kisses Mina’s cheek. 

“Hmm…” Mina moans, pulling her girlfriend close, kissing her lips. “Ooh. You showered already?” Burying her face in the crook of the girl’s neck. “You smell nice.”

“Ah-hmm.”

“What time did you get up?” Mina mumbled.

“Six?” Nayeon settles comfortably back on the bed, cuddling her half-awake Japanese love. “I woke up to Jinyoung and Dubu’s text.”

“Aw, they left already? I didn’t get to see Dahyunie and Sattang off.”

Even though Mina’s face is still hidden, Nayeon’s pretty sure the girl’s pouting.

“We’re going to see them back home in a couple of days. Don’t worry about it. Besides, they know how much you drank last night so, you know, they didn’t want to wake you up…”

“Oh god,” Mina drags. “I drank so much last night.” She did. Memories of her chugging straight from the wine bottle after she’s joined the Trio flash in her head.

“You kind of did. How’s your head? Hang over?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m fine. I just need to drink water.” The Kpop Idol pouts some more. “Lots and lots and _lots_ of water.”

“Yeah, you need to.” Nayeon nods to the three bottles of Pocari Sweat resting on the bedside table. “Listen, if you’d rather stay in, we can cancel snorkelling. I mean, we still have like, two more days…”

“No, no, I really wanted to do that.” Mina’s still pouting, sliding her hands inside Nayeon’s robe. “But can we stay in bed for a few more minutes?”

“Works for me.”

***

A plan can always go wrong, and Mina can’t help but laugh at the way Nayeon had been whining for the past half hour. Snorkelling had been cancelled. The beach was closed today due to the unexpected swarm of jellyfish that had surfaced.

“Baby, come on…” Mina wraps her arms around the interior designer from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder. “We can reschedule tomorrow. The jellies should be gone by then.”

“The jellies should not even be here today. This is so disappointing. I mean, we drove all the way up here. We hiked up the hill. We bought all these snorkelling gears and aqua shoes. I even got us that underwater—ugh…“ Nayeon’s pretty much throwing tantrums now.

Mina plants a soft kiss on Nayeon’s temple.

“It’s just that—it’s, huh,” Nayeon intertwines her fingers with Mina’s, feeling the platinum promise ring she gave her. “I got you something,” Bringing the hand to her lips, kissing it. “ _Really_ special.”

 _Oh shit. Was she planning on doing it while snorkelling? Is that why she was researching all those underwater breathing techniques? Fuck!_ Mina quietly and subtly lets out a sigh—staying calm in a situation that should freak the hell out of her is still her forte, thanks to years of being in the spotlight.

“And I really want to dip my feet in the water, you know.”

“We can still go to another beach.” Mina clears her throat, shaking these thoughts off her head. “Then we can go to that acai bowl place Jennie told me about. Hmm?” 

“Works for me.” Nayeon turns to her side to kiss Mina’s cheek. “You talked to Jennie?”

“Yeah… You know I think she’s hooking up with your assistant. I saw them together last night.”

“Oh, they _are_ hooking up.” Nayeon confirms. “Do you know how many times Jennie had to set up...” Air-quotes. “ _Medical missions_ in L.A. for the past three months? As if there aren’t enough vet clinics in the city.” 

Then she remembers something. Something she really wanted to ask since last night. Nayeon turns around—without getting out of her Japanese love’s embrace—to face Mina. “So, uh… what did you and Jinyoung talk about last night?” 

“Oh, you know, the usual thing we always talk about,” Mina shrugs. “You.” 

“Me?”

“Yeah. Since he just got married and starting his own family… he just wanted to make sure that you’re looked after. Taken care of. That _I’m_ looking after you and taking care of you.” Mina chuckles.

“Ooh, did he give you _the_ talk?”

“No, nothing like that. You know how much he likes me. You Ims are such softies.”

It’s true. Im Jinyoung had always had a soft spot for the KPop Idol ever since they met, years ago, at Nayeon’s birthday weekend. He always thought that Mina was, and is, the best thing that ever happened to his little sister. 

“Did he, uh, did he mention anything else?” The interior designer carefully asked. _Please say he didn’t. Please say he didn’t. Please say he didn’t._

“No, that was just it.”

“Yeah?” _Oh, thank god._

“Yeah…” Mina nods, trying to remember the whole conversation with the older Im. Then— “Oh! Well, there was something… something about a bodyguard? I didn’t really get that part.”

“Oh? Oh, yeah. Yes!” The look on Nayeon’s face couldn’t have been any more relieved. “Yeah. Oh. He’s—he’s setting up a bodyguard for me back in Seoul. He’s getting one for you too.”

“Me too? That’s really not necessary. Our company provides those for us.”

“He knows that, but just humor him. You know how protective he gets.” Nayeon leans in to place a quick kiss Mina on the lips then turns back around to look at the ocean while pulling on the Japanese girl’s arms to tighten the embrace.

The jellyfish beach invasion did ruin Nayeon’s morning, but their vacation is far from over. She’s still got two more days to execute her plan. It's just that she's not really good at spontaneity anymore. And, whether she'll admit it or not, timing had always been an issue with them. Always. 

***

Snorkelling was scheduled the next morning, and Nayeon surprised Mina with special jet ski lessons too—that was the _something special_ she got for her girlfriend. She knew Mina had always wanted to try jet skiing in open waters, and where better to do that than the Pacific Ocean.

She also thought about going through with her _other_ something special for Mina _—_ the one her best friends wanted her to _just do_ —while snorkelling but she was afraid she might lose it.

So, maybe she’ll do it at dinner then?

Nayeon had planned all their dinner dates the very same day she arrived in Hawaii for the wedding—which was about a week ago. 

But this particular night is special. 

She made sure that they got the private VIP room that has the ocean view. She got the restaurant to prepare Mina’s favorite meals and dessert. She even got the island’s famous hula dancers to perform for her Japanese love. 

Everything was perfectly set. 

Everything except for her nerves.

Now here she is, sitting across Mina. Feeling the blue little velvet box in her dress pocket, hearing her own heart beat—to the point that she barely understood half of the things Mina was saying. _Stop overthinking. Stop, or she’ll notice._

And Mina did. From the little blue velvety box she saw Nayeon _discreetly_ slipped into her dress pocket before they left their hotel room, to the way Nayeon would squirm in her seat across from her.

She noticed everything. She knows, but she has to play it cool. After all, Nayeon planned for this night. This is Nayeon’s moment—her thunder.

_Sigh._

A thunder that didn’t really rumble.

***

“Stop laughing.” Nayeon pouts.

It’s another sunny and windy day in Hanauma bay, perfect for a stroll, and Mina just laughs as she watches her girlfriend walking back to her.

“Aw, baby… I’m sorry…” Mina couldn’t stop laughing.

You see, Nayeon noticed an old couple who were struggling to take a selca with the view of the Pacific. So she went up to them, and offered to take their photo for them. She spoke to them in Korean and got surprised, well more like, embarrassed really, to find out that they didn’t understand her. She thought they were Koreans. Good thing is that sign language _is_ a universal language.

Nevertheless, the old couple thanked her and went their own way.

“Not all Asians are Koreans.” Mina teased.

“I know that.”

“But you were very cute.” Mina pulls her close and rubs her nose on the Korean’s. “Being all polite and thoughtful and nosy.”

Nayeon just continues to pout, until Mina stops laughing, and starts to pepper her face with sweet little kisses. _Aegyo never lets her down._

“Very cute.” Mina steals one more kiss. _She’s not stopping me from all these PDAs?_

Though there aren’t really a lot of people around, they never really do _this_ much PDA. Even when they’re not in Seoul, they’d still choose a more private spot (like, I don’t know, exit doors?) and would prefer a much later time of the day. So this Nayeon who doesn’t mind kissing in public _in broad daylight_ is extremely refreshing—eyebrow-raising? Yes, but still refreshing. 

“So, you want to check out the flea market?”

“Yes please. I might find some stuff I can ship back home. You know, like an apothecary table, something antique.” 

“I’m sure you’ll find something. I also read there’s a secret diner in the alley near the market. They’re supposed to have the best poke bowl on the island.”

Nayeon chuckles.

Of course, their trip won’t be complete without Mina searching for the best hidden gem in the city. She remembers the birthday trip with Mina just a month ago—four days in Greenland—with the latter surprising her with a visit to the best Thai restaurant in the Northern Hemisphere.

Mina should totally start her own secret diners show, and it’s going to be a hit.

“But you have to save room for dinner, okay? I got us reservations with the best view of the sunset. You’re going to love it."

And Mina really did love the view—the nine polaroids resting on their table can confirm that. Add in the salty ocean breeze, the most delicious chocolate mousse, and the best girl in the world. Mina is in heaven.

“So, it’s safe to say that you liked the food here too, right?”

“Did you see me attack that tartare?”

Knowing how picky the Japanese girl is when it comes to tartare, and the fact that Mina finished it in less than ten minutes is a pretty good testament of just how good the dishes are. Nayeon chuckled but then got distracted when her fingers grazed the velvety box in her pocket while digging for her phone.

The switch in Nayeon’s mood was very obvious.

“Baby,” The KPop Idol reached over to squeeze her girlfriend’s hand. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” _Maybe it’s time to just do it._ “This was such a wonderful weekend. With Jinyoung getting married and us being in this amazing island and you looking so beautiful and perfect. And all the wedding fever. I just felt… overwhelmed.” 

Mina recognizes this look on Nayeon’s face. It’s the same one from that night at the warehouse. So she leans in closer to bring the Korean girl’s hand to her lips. She’s not really sure whose hands are shaking—Nayeon’s or hers.

“I love you, Minari. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, right? I mean, I _plan_ on spending the rest of my life with you.” Releases a deep sigh. “So…”

***

The Trio’s group chat: _LDRNOMORE_

**DHYN:**

So 

You didnt do it huh?

**SN:**

Obv

Mitang would’ve been screaming on her priv if Nabong had

**NYN:**

I don’t want her to think I was pressured to.

**DHYN:**

The only one pressuring you is YOU

**NYN:**

I just don’t want her to feel like I’m doing it cause of the wedding.

**DHYN:**

Of course its coz of the wedding

But it could also be coz you love her very much

**SN:**

Got to agree with Dubu

But just like you said

YOU JUST GAVE HER A PROMISE RING

Which is basically already an engagement ring imo

**NYN:**

It’s different.

**DHYN:**

Its really not

Look

Not everything you do has to be planned months in advance you know

Be spontaneous

YOLO

**NYN:**

Good talk.

So who’s picking us up from the airport?

**DHYN:**

As usual

**NYN:**

Great. See you in 21hrs.

“So Dubu’s picking us up and then we’re going straight to mine.” Nayeon tells the beautiful girl sitting beside her at the Centurion Lounge, waiting for their flight back to Seoul. “Or you want us to drop you off at your dorm?”

“Can you drop me off at the office instead?” Mina asked as she typed on her phone. “Ji just messaged. They’re going to start teaching us the new choreo for red stage.”

Nayeon turns to her side, grinning. “Please tell me you’re finally doing Strawberry cause, you know, I’ve always wanted to see how that’s going to be performed.”

The KPop Idol leans closer to whisper. “If it _is_ Strawberry, I’ll give you a private show.” Then pulls back, satisfied with the way the Korean’s entire face had blushed.

There’s a bunch of polaroids on Mina’s lap—photos she’s taken at the wedding, at the flea market, at the hidden diner, and well, basically at every single place they went to. She was going through the photos, picking out which ones she could add to her wall—the wall that Nayeon’s designed for her.

“Can we have more weekends like this when I finish the tour?”

“Of course. Anywhere you want to go.” The Korean adjusts in her seat, facing Mina. “Jinyoung would totally understand if I take a few weeks off work. Knowing how much he likes you, I actually think he’d even push for it.”

A lounge attendant arrives to bring them their drinks.

“Ah, these two.” Nayeon picks a polaroid—it’s one of Dahyun raising a glass to the newly-weds, and Sana was just looking at the younger Korean. “Why can’t they just get back together?”

“Because you said they’re better off as best friends.”

“But look at them.” Nayeon pouts, prompting Mina to give her a stern look. “Alright, I know, I know. Sana-chan’s busy with work. Dubu’s dating. But the thing is, she hasn’t told us much about this girl she’s seeing.”

“Didn’t she say they worked together?”

“Yeah, so it’s someone from their company or from TV or an idol?” Nayeon shrugged. “Anyway, I guess when she’s ready she’ll tell us. Or at least me.”

Nayeon returns the polaroid, and then picks up another one—one of Momo dancing with Dahyun at the wedding reception.

“Do you think it’s Momo?”

“Baby, I think we both know _why_ it can’t be Momo.”

“Right.” Nayeon nods in understanding. “How’s that going?”

“Well, she took off right after the reception and got on a red eye back Seoul, so you tell me.”

“Hmm. Still not used to her being in a relationship.”

“She’s found her _once in a lifetime._ ” The Japanese girl looks at Nayeon with a mischievous grin.

It’s something that they’ve already talked about—and Mina had made peace with—but that doesn’t mean that Mina won’t use it to tease the hell out of her girlfriend.

“Ha ha.” Nayeon lets out a dry chuckle, but she stretched her neck to give her Japanese love a loud smooch. “Love you.”

Then she returns the photo back to the pile on Mina’s lap, and picks another one up. This time, it’s a photo of her and Mina being squeezed by the newly-weds. “I love this one. Can I have this?”

Mina looks over. “Yeah,” Then her attention focused on the jewelry on the bride’s hand. “Your mother’s ring was so stunning.”

“Yeah. You know, the first time Pops saw that ring, he knew that that’s going to be Ma’s engagement ring. I actually thought Ma was wearing it the day they, you know… and that it was lost.” Nayeon runs a thumb on the photo. “I didn’t know Jinyoung kept it.”

“It was really sweet. Your parents _were_ part of the wedding.”

“Yeah… And he was so happy.” Loving the way her brother was grinning from ear to ear. “He looked happier than someone who won the powerball jackpot.”

“Marrying the love of your life is _the_ jackpot.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

The lounge intercom calls for their flight number, announcing that the plane’s ready for boarding.

“Finally.” Mina silently huffs, putting all the photos back into a clutch except for the one Nayeon wanted to keep. “Oh, baby, here.”

Nayeon reaches out to grab the polaroid, and immediately feels that Mina’s slipping something in her hand—something cold, something made of metal. _What the—_

She stops moving, sits back down, and looks at Mina with her jaw pretty much dropped to the floor.

Mina bites her lip, waiting for the other girl to react. 

_Oh god. Oh god. Oh god._ Nayeon slowly opens her palm to see a two-stone asscher cut diamond ring. A two-stone diamond _engagement_ ring.

“Wha—ha…” She’s lost for words.

“When Yong oppa decided to propose to Kelly, he had your mom’s ring redesigned then he gave me half of the stone. My mom had already given me hers so…”

“M-Mina…” _Why is my voice so shaky?_

“I had a feeling that you’re up to something. And I know you said you wanted to do an over the top proposal so I didn’t want to steal your thunder.” She takes the ring from Nayeon’s trembling palm. “But I do want to steal your last name. And you know, win the jackpot too.” Mina gently slips it on the Korean’s ring finger. “So what do you say?”

_This is your best surprise ever._

_I’ll be Mrs. Nayeon Im-Myoi._

_She’ll be Mrs. Mina Myoi-Im._

_Oh, fuck._

_I’m engaged. To Mina._

“Baby?”

Nayeon just nods. She’s still speechless. She knew Mina loves surprising her, but nothing can ever beat this one. She never saw it coming. Or maybe she was so obsessed with her own plans that she didn’t see the signs of this even happening.

Realizing she hasn’t really given Mina a confirmed answer—“Yes! It’s always yes.” Leaning over to kiss the sneaky girl. “God, I love you.”

The intercom calls for their flight number again.

“So,” Nayeon pulls back, and then _ping!_ Something just clicks inside her. “Want to win the jackpot now?”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you go.  
> You all know I totally love this universe, so might as well do the sequel, no?  
> Naturally, they'd be some references from Cinderella and the other AUs from the series.  
> Like Minayeon's first dance and the song that plays in the background (Cinderella, Ch.14), Mina's photo wall (Of Polaroids), and of course Namo's once in a lifetime (also from Cinderella).  
> Also, this AU's title is based on a Cinderella movie :)  
> Let me know what you guys think :)
> 
> I love reading comments. You can also scream at me on twitter: @Lila11Lila_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta-ed.  
> Please excuse my errors.

_“Marrying the love of your life is the jackpot.”_

_“Want to win the jackpot now?”_

***

Nayeon’s scared.

They’d just dropped Mina off at JPY’s office for the KPop idol’s rehearsals, and now that it’s just her and the driver in the car, Nayeon’s totally terrified.

“I’m so sorry…” Nayeon carefully looks at the driver.

Dahyun—the driver who hasn’t said anything for the past fifteen minutes—just kept her eyes on the road, looking at the red traffic light.

“Dub...” Nayeon calls for the driver’s attention again.

No reaction from Dahyun.

“Come on...” Nayeon groans.

Still no response.

“Dahyunie…” Using the nickname she and Sana would use to get into the younger girl’s mushy side. “I’m so sorry. Please. Don’t be mad at me.”

Apparently, her aegyo also works with Dahyun. Sighs. “I’m not mad. I’m just… annoyed. You could’ve called. Or texted. You know I’d be waiting for you.”

“I know, I know and I’m really sorry. It totally slipped my mind.”

“What happened? We were even chatting just before you guys _supposedly_ boarded your connecting flight in Vegas.”

Their flight was supposed to land in Seoul at 5:55 AM KST, but Nayeon and Mina actually arrived at 3:10 PM KST. That’s a little over nine hours. Dahyun actually waited for at least three hours, before finally giving up. It wasn’t until an hour before landing that Nayeon remembered to message Dahyun—thank goodness for wifi on the plane—telling her that she and Mina took another flight out of their layover, which explains that delay.

Nayeon just gives Dahyun a smile.

The kind of smile that Dahyun knew so well—one that the interior designer used to sport when they were still kids, sneaking out of the house to crash a college party. _They’re Engaged. They were in Vegas. Oh my go—_

Then the traffic lights turn green again, and the car behind starts honking.

“Oh!” The younger Korean immediately puts the car back to drive. “But wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.”

 _Oh fuck!_ Nayeon closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

The car stopped moving again—Dahyun had found an emergency bay, and removed her seatbelt to face her best friend. “Something happened in Vegas.”

 _Ugh._ Of course Dayhun would put two and two together—this girl’s a smart cookie, what did Nayeon expect?

“Nabong," The younger girl called for her best friend’s attention. “What happened in Vegas? Did you… did you get married?”

“Well…” The interior designer shows off her left hand. “She proposed to me.” The afternoon sunlight bounced off the stones, making it shimmer brightly. 

“Oh! Oh my god! Congratulations!” Dahyun finally allowed herself to get excited. She leans over to hug Nayeon. “Ahh, so that explains it. You lovebirds had a post engagement celebration at your layover, huh?”

“Uh, yeah, something like that.” 

But something’s still off. “Nayeon? Did you get married in Vegas?”

Nayeon breathes out. “Well, almost.”

“Wha—how—what were you thinking?!”

“I—I, huh,” Nayeon leans back to her seat. “After she proposed, I got all speechless and my mind was all over the place. And then I thought about what you and Sana were telling me. You know, be spontaneous, _YOLO._ ” Sighs. “So, I thought, _why not_.”

“Oh, no...”

“So, I asked her, she said yes.” Nayeon continues. “And then when we got to Vegas, you know, 24-hour wedding services… then we just…” The older girl exhales deeply. “Can—can we talk about this somewhere without all these cars honking?”

“Yeah, of course.” Dahyun settles back on her seat after sending a quick _SOS_ text to Sana.

***

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Is it true that Mina arrived from Hawaii today?_

_Waiting for previews…_

_shouldn’t there be a vid by now???_

_Still waiting for previews…_

_I don’t think fansites knew about this_

_So no Mina previews…_

_someone said they were on the same flight with MN_

_OP said Mina was with a friend and used the VIP exit_

_Friend? Same friend from Japan? user IMNY?_

_how awesome would it be if it really was her!_

_welcome back minari!_

***

“Sidetracked?!”

Mina shuts her eyes closed. She hates this. She hates being scolded. She hates it even more that she’s being scolded in front of all her members and their managers here at the dance studio.

“You got sidetracked?!” Jihyo repeated, still in complete shock. “That’s it? That’s your excuse?! This is not like you. It’s like you lost your mind!”

“Hey Ji, you want to scream louder? I don’t think PD-nim heard you at his office upstairs.” Jeongyeon sarcastically suggested to the group’s leader.

Jihyo huffs and slumps back on the floor, resting her back on the mirrored wall. 

“But seriously, Mina-chan.” Jeongyeon turns to the girl in the hot seat. “Your layover was only for three hours. You guys were in Vegas for like, twelve hours. Did something else happen?” 

(Of course her friends and their managers know about her flight itinerary.)

All the other girls look at Jeongyeon. 

Jihyo looks relieved— _finally someone asked it._

Tzuyu looks embarrassed— _can we really ask her that? Here?_

Chaeyoung looks amused— _I was going to ask that, but you go unnie!_

“Actually…” Mina carefully said, looking down at her own fingers. “I proposed to her.” She quietly admits.

“Fuck yes!” Chaeyoung throws both hands up in the air. “Congratulations, unnie!”

“T-thanks.” 

Everyone else in the room was just looking at Mina, wondering if they heard her correctly. 

“Wait, you what?!” Jihyo’s back to being shocked, pointing at the young rapper. “And you knew about it?”

“Only cause I accidentally saw the ring when I was helping her pack for Hawaii.” Chaeyoung shrugged. 

“Mina?” Jihyo turns back to the Japanese member in the hot seat. “Please tell me you didn’t get married in Vegas.”

“I mean... I proposed...”

“Mina—” 

“Okay!” Jeongyeon swoops in, putting a hand on Jihyo’s lap to stop another scolding that everyone can see coming. “Well then, there you go. She _only_ proposed.”

All the managers exchanged worried and horrified looks. Clearly, this is still a problem. The girls have missed almost half a day worth of rehearsals and recordings. And they—the managers—would have to discuss this matter with their team leader, and then with PD-nim, their new CEO, and probably their PR department too.

“Alright, you girls just continue with your rehearsals. Okay?” One of their managers, Yongjin, starts dialling on his phone. “Everyone just stay here and wait for our text. Okay?” 

All the girls nod. 

As the managers are leaving, Jihyo jumps up to her feet and walks out of the studio, either to call the choreographer back or to blow off some steam—no one dares to ask. Maknaes Chaeyoung and Tzuyu decide to go over some of the steps they were taught earlier before all that _confrontation_. Jeongyeon goes to stretch her legs—that talk was really tough but she knows it’s a thousand times tougher on Mina. The Japanese girl looks like she’s on the verge of tears as she lies flatly on the floor.

_Shit._

***

The apartment feels a lot smaller as Nayeon was forced to sit on the large single chair. Dahyun sits right across her, on the couch, sporting a scowl on her face.

“I feel like I’m in the hot seat.”

“You _are_ in the hot seat.” Dahyun crosses arms, leaning back on the couch.

Sana—who had been on the phone with _IM Interiors_ marketing team discussing their transfer to Seoul—finally joins them back in the living room, dropping herself beside Dahyun on the couch.

“So, they’re taking a second look at the licenses and permits and get back to us as soon as they have something to share, I guess.” The Japanese girl sets her phone on the coffee table. “Where were we? Oh, right. What were you thinking?!” 

“That’s what I’ve been asking her.” Dahyun cocks her head to the side.

“And?” Sana turns to Dahyun, who just shrugs and gestures for the former to ask Nayeon directly. “Nabong?”

"You’re the ones who keep on telling me to _YOLO._ ”

“By _proposing_ to her.” Sana pointed out. “We would never tell you to YOLO getting married. That’s different. That’s totally far from all the _be spontaneous_ talks that we’ve been having.” 

“See, this is why you should let me plan stuff.” 

Being an interior designer requires a lot of planning and thinking before a decision can even be made—which is perfect for an overthinker like Nayeon. Because when her thought process is disturbed and she feels forced to make hasty decisions, everything just goes south.

“But just to confirm, you didn’t...?” Dahyun scoots to the edge of the couch. “Right?” 

Nayeon scratches the tip of her nose. “You both know Jinyoung would kill me if I did.”

“Not if I kill you first.” Sana crosses her arms, leaning back on the couch.

Dahyun turns to the pouting girl sitting beside her, and holds her palm out. “Pay up, Minatozaki.”

Sana rolls her eyes while pulling a $100 out of her back pocket, and slapping it on Dahyun’s palm. 

_Unbelievable._ “You’re betting on my love life?! Again?!”

“Nah, this time, we were betting on your courage.” Dahyun flicks the bill, displaying just how crisp it is, teasing Sana.

Sana scoffs. She should've placed her bet on Mina having more guts to actually pop the question. But technically, Nayeon did it first. Right? The promise ring that Mina’s been sporting for over two months now? Yes, that one. That’s basically an engagement ring already.

“And you just made me $100 richer.” 

“You’re welcome. Look, I’m really _really_ sorry I didn’t tell you guys about missing the flight out of Vegas.” Nayeon scratched the tip of her nose before standing up. “I owe you both big time—”

“You do.” The Japanese girl’s still annoyed.

“—and I will make it up to you. But I need to unpack.”

“You don’t really unpack til like, a week after arriving.” Dahyun frowns. _This is new. Something’s still off._

“No, but I want to lie down for a bit. So, I’ll just be upstairs.”

Dahyun and Sana know better than to stop the girl, so they just watch Nayeon drag her luggage up to the loft. They both lean back on the soft, fluffy couch when they hear the bedroom door close.

“So, dinner?” The Japanese girl breaks the silence. “We could order in?”

“Actually, I have plans.” Dahyun’s almost embarrassed. “But I can cancel if—”

“No, don’t.”

“You sure?” Dahyun stands up, and furrows her eyebrows.

“You sure you want to cancel your _date_ to stay here with me?” Sana challenged, raising an eyebrow.

A beat.

“No. Eww.” Dahyun added for drama. 

It’s only been a few months since Sana returned home. A few months since they’ve decided to reconcile their friendship. Now, they’re back to their usual banters of pretending not to enjoy each other’s company. 

“Exactly. Go. Have fun. Stay safe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“Double eww.” The younger Korean scrunches her nose, feigning disgust, before breaking into a smile. “Later.”

Dahyun leaves, carefully closing the door behind her. 

“Yeah. Double eww.” Sana repeated to herself, just to make sure her heart hears it too.

***

“ _They grilled you yet?_ ” 

“ _Ugh, it’s like being in a court martial. Only worse cause it’s with Sana._ ” Nayeon chuckles, adjusting the phone to her ear as she slips a hand inside her pocket. It’s a chilly evening, but she still decided to get out of the apartment after having take-outs with Sana. “ _You?_ ”

“ _Ji eventually calmed down._ _But we’re stuck in the studio for three more hours. Well, I am. I have a lot of catching up to do._ ” 

“ _I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I know this is hard for you. I never should’ve asked you to, you know, do that._ ”

“ _No, no, we both agreed, right?”_

“ _Yeah, well…_ ” Nayeon sniffs. It really is cold outside that she’s beginning to get a runny nose. 

Then a ferry passed by.

“ _Baby, where are you?”_ The Japanese girl obviously heard the loud ferry honk. 

“ _River. You know, thinking._ ” 

A silent moment. Just the two of them listening to each other’s soft breathing on the other line. Until Mina spoke again.

“ _Are you thinking that maybe we should’ve...?”_ Mina was already whispering on the other line, pretty sure she doesn’t want anyone to hear their conversation.

“ _No, we should definitely wait and tell your parents and my brother first._ ” Wipes her runny nose. “ _Are you having regrets?_ ”

“ _No, I’ll never regret anything with you._ ” 

Nayeon lets out a shaky sigh. “ _I already miss you._ ”

“ _Aww, you’re going all soft on me again.”_ There’s an exhausted but hearty chuckle on the other line. _“I miss you too. If I finish rehearsals before the sun rises, you might just wake up with the best morning kisses. How’s that?_ ”

“ _Works for me._ ”

***

**blushy:**

Just got home

Rain check on those morning kisses

ILY baby

Looking at her phone, Mina groans when she sees the time. 5:22 AM. There had been so many instances of this happening, but she’s particularly tired today. And not to mention that she would only have a few hours of sleep before going back to the studio to learn the new sets of choreographies for their tour.

Their group’s first ever world tour.

 _Fuck._ It’s still surreal. This is her dream coming true. Sure they’ve had a few guestings at international music festivals, but that’s a lot different than having people paying to actually see them perform. Truth be told, that thought alone is giving her and the other girls anxiety. _What if no one comes to our show?_

“Mina?” A voice called out.

The Japanese ballerina looks up, and sees a lanky girl walking towards her. She squints her eyes—the morning light coming from outside the apartment building is making it hard for her to see the girl’s face. 

_Oh?_

“Hey,” Mina finally recognized the girl. The raspy voice should’ve been a giveaway already. “Hi. What are you doing here?” 

“I live here now.” Lisa stands beside the Japanese girl, waiting for the elevator. “Moved in last week. Chaeng said you were in Hawaii?”

“Yeah. I attended a family friend’s wedding.”

"Hmm," The Thai girl looks Mina up and down then raises an eyebrow. “Let’s see. Luggage. Duty free bags. Neck pillow.” Snaps her fingers, and points at Mina. “You went to rehearsals straight from the airport.”

“Wow, what gave that away?” Mina chuckles with a hint of sarcasm, adjusting the neck pillow on her shoulders. 

Finally, the elevator arrived and the two idols entered with Lisa helping Mina pull the large luggage in.

“What floor?” Lisa asks after pressing her own floor— _14_.

“17 please. Thanks.” Mina sits on her luggage, she’s really just too tired. “Did you have rehearsals too?”

“Ah, no. Kickboxing. My trainer insists we schedule it before sunrise. He’s trying to kill me, really.”

“Yeah well, you’re a night owl so…” Mina shrugs.

“Right.” Lisa chuckles. “Hey, congrats on your world tour. I heard tickets are selling out fast.” 

“Thanks. It’s crazy. Who would’ve thought it would actually happen?”

“I did. I knew it was only just a matter of time before your group became a household name.”

“You did?” Mina furrows her eyebrows, looking up at Lisa who was just smiling at her.

“Yeah. You guys are _really_ good.” _Ding!_ The elevator doors slide open at the 14th floor, and Lisa starts walking out. Once she’s out in the hallway, she turns around to face Mina. “Hey, now that we’re neighbors, let’s have coffee sometime. Yeah?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

“Cool. Sleep it off, Mina.” Lisa calls out as the elevator doors close. “See you around.” 

_Yeah, I need to sleep this off._ The Japanese girl was caught off guard with Lisa’s offer, that's why she immediately said yes. _What was I thinking?_

They’ve never really had a decent talk after what happened years ago. Sure they see each other at KPop awards shows, there were _Hi’s_ and _Hello’s,_ but never an actual conversation. 

_Sighs._ But maybe this is the universe’s way of having them reconcile their friendship. After all, they were good friends before the whole _outing_ fiasco.

***

The empty warehouse from months ago looks so much different now that its walls are coated with fresh paint. The concrete pillars were covered in marbled tiles from floor to ceiling. Glass walls and doors were installed for private office spaces. Natural light coming in through the glass roof, making the whole place look ten times bigger than it actually is. 

“Wow. It is starting to look like your LA office.” Momo approves as she looks around the new _IM Interiors, LLC - Seoul._ “Why aren’t you designing this place again?”

“I wanted to give my assistant the chance to do it. Something to add to her portfolio.” Nayeon is showing Momo around the space where long wooden desks are being assembled. “Anyway, it’s only just the lobby she’s doing. And the designers’ lounge. And I still get the final say.”

The showroom is scheduled to open in a month, and Nayeon’s really excited about it. It will give her something else to focus on while Mina prepares for her group's world tour. 

“So, how’s the newly engaged future Mrs. Myoi?” Momo asked, snapping Nayeon out of her thoughts. 

“You’ve heard?”

“And I’ve seen.” The café owner nods to the engagement ring on Nayeon’s hand.

Nayeon chuckles, playing with the platinum band. “What else did Chaeng tell you?” She raised an eyebrow.

“That Mina’s in trouble cause they thought you two go hitched in Vegas. I’d give you a good ol’ scolding, but I’m pretty sure you’ve already had an earful from your divorced parents.”

“Sure did. You know how wordy Sana gets when she’s mad, right?”

“Remember the whole Newarkgate with Dub missing her flight cause she was with me?” Momo laughs as Nayeon nods. “I’ll never forget how I spent almost half an hour just reading her message. And she sent it in just one convo bubble. She can actually give Chaengie a run for her money.”

“ _Chaengie_?” Nayeon teased. “How’s that going?”

“Good.” Momo smiles brightly, with a faint hint of blushing. “Really good.”

“See, I told you, your type’s always been younger girls with like, the rebel aura.” 

“No, my type is smart, artistic, free-spirited girls. They just always happen to be younger than me. And are you seriously mocking my type? May I remind you that I actually went out with you?”

“That was a long time ago.” Showing off her engagement ring again. “I am Mrs. Myoi now.”

Momo points out. “ _Future_ Mrs. Myoi.” 

“Pfft, potayto, potahta.” Nayeon brushes her off. “We all know that’s how this ends anyway.”

“I know. And I’m happy for you. Have you told Jinyoung yet?”

“Not yet. They’re still in Maldives and I don’t want to interrupt their honeymoon for this, you know. I’ll tell him when they get back home.”

“Speaking of home, are you still staying at your old _college_ apartment?”

“Hmm, yeah, why?”

“Well, IMInt is making a buzz around the business blogs, people are starting to recognize you. And now that you two are engaged, I’d assume Mina would want to sneak into your place more often. You should consider moving somewhere more… secured. You know, to avoid any run-ins with the D-people.”

_Hmm._

***

Sana enters _Peaches_ to treat herself for a little afternoon pick me up, talking on her phone. “ _I got the licenses. We’re all set. I’m just getting coffee and maybe some snacks. You want anything?_ ”

“ _Iced latte would be great. And if you’re in Peaches, can you get me one of those dark choco muffins?_ ”

“ _You didn’t say please, Im Nayeon._ ” Sana teases as she falls in line, checking the pastries on the shelf. And yup, Nayeon’s favorite is available. 

“ _Whatever. I’ll just have them deliver some here_.”

“ _You’re such a baby. How many do you want?_ ”

“ _Two please. Oh, make that three. Rosé’s here too. She’s going to want to steal one for sure.”_

“ _You got it. I’ll be there in a few. Bye._ ” Sana hangs up as she walks up the counter, waves to the staff behind. “Hi.”

“Hello, Sana-ssi.” A young barista smiles. “I got your usual in the mixer already.” 

“Hey, Ryujin. Thanks.” The perks of being a regular customer—you get your drinks prepared as soon as the staff sees you walk in. 

“Can I get you anything else?” 

“Yeah, actually. Um, one large iced hazelnut latte and a box of those dark choco muffins.”

“Sure thing. You want to sit down? I’ll bring them up to you.”

“Aw, thank you.” Sana slid her card on the counter top. “Here you go.”

“Oh, no.” Ryujin pushes Sana’s card back, then leans in to whisper. “The boss said your orders are always on the house.”

“Well, the boss is not here, right?” Pushing her card back, giving the younger girl an intimidating look that she had no choice but to charge the card. 

The Japanese girl takes a seat at the nearest stool to wait for her orders, looking around the café’s afternoon crowd. 

Peaches had really become one of Seoul’s most popular hang outs. Everyone gets their caffeine fix from here. From college students to young professionals. Even TV actors and KPop idols are patrons of the café. 

Sana’s eyes wander off to the newly installed paintings on the wall when her eyes landed on the corner booth—the one that’s always reserved for the café owner’s friends—and immediately recognizes the purple hair being thrown back in laughter. 

_Dahyunie._

She got up from seat, and was already a few steps away when she realized that the other girl was not alone. Sana turns around to walk away, but too late. Dahyun had already seen her.

“Sana?”

 _Shit._ Sana lets out a huff, puts on a smile before turning back around. “Hey. Hi.”

“Coffee run?”

“Yeah, well, you know we need all the caffeine we can get for planning IMInt’s opening.” Sana turns to the other girl in the booth. Jet black hair, pointed nose, and a pretty face that could make anyone go weak in the knees. _Hmm, pretty ordinary._ “Hello?”

“Oh, right. Sorry. Irene, this is Sana. Sana, Irene. My boss.”

“Hi,” Irene, the pretty ordinary girl in the booth with Dahyun, waves. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Huh?” Sana’s quite confused.

“Yeah, Kim here has told me about you. Childhood best friends, right?”

Dahyun wants to just disappear. _This is not happening._

Just then the barista arrives, and hands Sana her take-outs. “Here you go, Sana-ssi. Take care.”

“Thanks.” Turning back to Dahyun and Irene. “Right, well, I have to go. And it’s nice to meet you too, Irene.” She bows awkwardly before leaving.

***

It’s not unusual for Nayeon to come home to a quiet apartment now that Dahyun’s working overtime, arranging the lights and sounds set up for Twice’s world tour. She officially moved back into her old apartment a few weeks before Jinyoung’s wedding, but it didn’t take long for her to find out that her best friend’s also dating.

Nayeon had seen all the signs—the two wine glasses in the sink, a new blue mug in their cupboards, a hickey that Dahyun tried to hide by wearing turtlenecks. Dahyun’s not really as stealth as she thinks she is (well, none of the Trio is).

Now, she doesn’t want to worry about Dahyun. She really shouldn’t—Dahyun’s a smart and strong cookie. But the interior designer can’t help but wonder why she hasn’t met her best friend’s new girl. She wants to talk about it with Sana, but that's just going to be weird. Even though Sana claims that it should be a normal thing for them to talk about each other’s partners, tease each other about it, heck, even make a bet out of each other’s love-slash-dating life.

_Oh well._

They'd just have to wait for Dahyun to be ready to introduce her new girl. _If_ she’ll ever decide to introduce her.

It brings back the memory of how Mina was introduced to Dahyun. _That was funny. What if I also meet her girl that way? Oh fuck! What if it’s someone famous too? Or at least someone I know? Hmm, why is my bedroom door open?_

Nayeon was too deep in her thoughts to notice the apartment wasn’t completely quiet at all. There’s music coming from her bedroom, and the night light was on which can only mean one thing.

_Mina!_

“Are you here to make up for not texting all day?” 

“Yes, please.” Mina, who’s lying on the bed with her legs resting on top of several pillows, lowers the volume of the music. “That and I miss my wife.” 

Nayeon grins. She enters the bedroom, climbs on the bed, and crawls her way to Mina’s lips.

Mina had always loved Nayeon’s minty kisses. Even the little pecks are always full of emotions. They’re never really just _kisses_. They’ve always been the Korean’s way of conveying messages without using words. And tonight’s message: _I fucking miss you like you have no idea._

She pulls Nayeon in a little too hard making the latter lean on her leg. 

“Ooh, ow!”

“Ooh, sorry. Sorry.” Nayeon immediately pulls back then rolls over to Mina's side. “Are they sore?” Lifting the Japanese girl’s legs, and placing them on top of her thighs.

“Just a little. I already had an ice bath with Jeongyeon unnie after rehearsals though.” Mina giggles when she sees her girlfriend raising an eyebrow. “We weren’t naked. We were in our undies.” 

_Pfft._ Nayeon starts to gently massage the idol’s calves. “I’m not jealous.” 

“Of course, you’re not.” Mina teased, kissing Nayeon’s temple. “Tell me about your day.”

“Ahh well, we finally got our license to operate. We’re just waiting for the other furniture to arrive, which should be in by Tuesday next week so I’m excited for that. Um, the lobby’s all done. The showrooms are ready. Oh!” Nayeon wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. “And we’ve installed the blackout blinds in my office.”

“Well then, we better take it for a test run, hmm.” 

“Oh it’s waiting for your approval." More suggestive wiggly eyebrows. "And you? How’s rehearsal going? Are you doing Strawberry?”

"You have an unhealthy obsession with that song." Mina laughs. "Rehearsal’s tiring, like always. We learned two more choreos today. Ah, what else? Hmm, our sizes were sent to the wardrobe team. We also got the stage mapped out, so we can do blockings tomorrow.” 

"Yay. Everything's coming along. You excited?"

"Yeah. I am. But it’s also really scary."

"Aw, why are you scared? Don’t be. You’ll be awesome." Nayeon adjusts her position to wrap her arms around Mina, kissing the top of her head. "Look at us. We’re like an old married couple exchanging our daily notes.”

Mina sits up, fishing something out of her pocket. “Drop the old." _Found it._ She holds up a simple platinum ring with gold accents.

“Right, so…” Nayeon takes the ring from the Japanese girl, slides it on Mina’s finger. “How does it feel to be Mrs. Im?”

“Myoi _hyphen_ Im. Don't forget the hyphen.” Mina reminded Nayeon, leaning over to pull the necklace out of the latter’s shirt, a similar platinum ring dangling as its pendant. “Honestly, it feels amazing.”

The Japanese girl removes the necklace off Nayeon, taking the ring out, and then putting it on the Korean’s finger. Nayeon just smiles, but Mina can just tell that she's already thinking of a million different things at once. 

“Baby, look at me. I know you’re not as excited as I am, although it was your idea. But like what I told you before, I don’t regret anything with you. I don't regret marrying you."

"I know.” A very deep sigh.

“Do you regret marrying me?”

“No, I don’t. I _want_ to marry you. But do I think we rushed it? Yeah. Cause that wasn't the kind of wedding I want to give you, you know. That wasn't what you deserve."

"What I deserve is you, okay? I mean, yeah it was kind of rushed, but at _that_ moment it felt right. I don’t care that it wasn't a big, fabulous wedding, I'd like a small ceremony anyway. You know, just you and me. And like, my parents and your brother. Of course our friends. And okay, maybe Momo too." Kidding, Mina and Momo are friends now. "Seriously, I don't need it to be anything grand. I just need it to be with you."

Damn, this girl never fails to make Nayeon a blushing mess.

"So my parents are coming home tomorrow. We can facetime them. After my rehearsal?"

“Y-yes, yeah. The sooner the better, right? The older Ims are still in Maldives so..." Nayeon chuckles nervously. “God, Jinyoung’s going to kill me.”

“Not if Sattang kills you first.” Mina lies back down so that Nayeon could cuddle her again. “I want to tell our friends already. I hate lying to them. It’s so hard. And I think Ji can actually see right through me.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she already knows. She’s got like, powers.” 

“Yeah, she does.” The KPop idol nestles in Nayeon’s warmth.

Now that the plan to talk to her parents has been laid out, it’s starting to make her really anxious—wondering how _that_ conversation will go. She’s hoping, praying that they’d understand. _I mean, they’re crazy about Nayeon too, right?_

***

Mina walks out of the training room with Jihyo, exchanging notes for the concert remixes of their songs when she sees a familiar face waiting by the elevators.

“Lisa?” 

“Hey, I was hoping I’d run into you today.” Lisa waves, and then she sees a not-so-impressed Jihyo. “Hey, Jihyo.”

“Hey.” The doe-eyed Korean gives a small smile then she turns to Mina. “I’ll go ahead. I’m on the clock.” 

Jihyo nods at Lisa and immediately leaves. She does have to record a special VTR for an upcoming award show, but that’s not until 3 PM and it's only 1:30 PM. 

Mina knows that Jihyo just doesn't want to hang around the other idol. What Lisa did happened years ago, and Jihyo may have forgiven her but that doesn't mean she's forgotten.

“So,” Mina asked the Thai girl. "What are you doing here?"

“GDA _secret_ special stage with your sunbaes. I thought you’d be in it. I mean, they said it’s an all main dancer unit.”

“Yeah, no, I can’t miss any more concert rehearsals.” 

"Right. But you guys are performing too, right?"

"Yeah, two songs. We're probably going last. Like always."

Lisa laughs. _Of course._ "Save the best for last." Then she checks the time. "Hey, I don't have any other sched today. If you're free we could have that coffee now? Only if you're done with rehearsals."

"Well rehearsal's not yet done, but I'm actually on break. I have like, an hour."

"Great. That coffee house in the back alley, the one where we used to go, is that still open?"

"Yeah." Mina nods, laughing at the memory of them going to that café to order a tall glass of iced americano, and crying about how their dance teacher was being unfair. "They have a second floor now too."

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_BP’s Lisa was spotted at JYP Ent. amidst the rumors of her agency terminating her contract. More info on the link._

***

The _Back Alley_ is a small cafe that’s literally at the back alley of JYP Entertainment’s building. The owner is a former employee of the agency, and he’d always give trainees huge discounts that he might as well just serve them the food for free. This was Mina and Lisa’s go-to place everytime they’d have their monthly evaluations when they were still trying to make it in the biz.

This café had witnessed a lot of arguments, laughter, crying, and of course celebratory iced coffees when kids get to have their dreams of being an idol come true. 

This café was like a trainee’s safe space.

“What happened? Shouldn’t it be easier after you guys were… you know…?”

“Outed?” Lisa said what Mina couldn’t. “I think you know that it actually gets a lot harder after being outed. Cause now that everyone knows, everyone’s in our business. Like they think that they have a say in whatever goes on in our relationship."

Mina just listens.

"You know, I thought we were ready. I even considered talking to my company about coming out. I mean, she and I, we've been together for three years. Nothing should break us. But a week after that article was released, she was already packing her stuff. She just couldn't deal with it."

"I'm, uh, I’m sorry." 

"Yeah, me too." Lisa exhales deeply.

“Are you okay? I mean, of course you’re not okay, but… how are you holding up?”

“It’s like I’m sleepwalking. You know? I go to all my schedules. I dance till my I can’t feel my legs anymore. Then I go home and cry cause I have to sleep in the same bed with the pillows she used.” 

Mina feels chills run down her spine. This conversation is giving her some insights regarding her plans of going public with Nayeon and its possible repercussions, and it’s scaring her. 

“Hey, I know I've said this before, but I'm really _really_ sorry about what I did.” Lisa gives her a small bow. “Being young and stupid wasn't really a valid excuse, but that's the only one I've got."

"Thanks. For saying it this time instead of just texting it like you did before."

The Thai idol smiles as they settle back in a comfortable silence. 

"How about you? Bam told me that you’re still with your…” Lisa looks around the empty café, lowering her voice. “... girlfriend.”

“You still talk to him?”

“Yeah, he's still my friend. There’s not very many Thai idols here, you know.”

"Right." 

"And just so you know, I smacked the living shit out of him when he told me why he went along with the whole fake date thing with you. I still think it was really stupid.”

“Y-yeah.” _What else did he tell her?_

“So?” Lisa urged the other girl to answer her question.

“Um… yeah, we are. Still together. For four years now.”

“Wow. And you’re able to keep it under wraps for this long?” 

“Well, I hate to admit it but that fake date thing actually helped. And Nayeon’s really a private person…” Mina chuckles. “Not to mention the many _many_ signed NDAs.” 

“I’m happy for you. And you know, I don’t want you to have to go down the same road I did, so just take it slow. Try not to rush things, cause, you know, Dispatch’s an ass.”

_Right. Not rush things._

***

Nayeon's in her office, checking the furniture catalogue that they'll be sending their guests for the store opening. This move actually started out a joke—Jinyoung telling her to start her own branch in Seoul since she spends most of her time here. They started drafting the Seoul Project around the same time Nayeon had Mina's promise ring crafted. 

She carefully planned everything. From keeping the Seoul branch a secret from Mina for almost six months, to making sure Dahyun pulls off the surprise—everything was going as planned. 

Then everything started moving a little too fast. 

After she gave Mina the promise ring, and that week spent in Greenland celebrating her birthday, Nayeon just got antsy. So she immediately got an engagement ring made for her Japanese love, and thought it'd be romantic to propose after her brother's wedding. 

Maybe it's because she hadn't made any concrete plan, that’s why she wasn't able to do it. Or maybe it's really just the timing. 

Or maybe it's because the universe had other plans for them. Maybe they’ve been playing it safe all along, and now it’s time to shake things up.

By having Mina propose to her first.

By letting them have that quick Las Vegas wedding.

By making them keep it a secret from their close friends. Well, until they’ve told their families.

 _Ah, but Dubu and Sana-chan are my family_. Maybe she should tell them already—lying to them is the worst feeling ever.

Nayeon goes to massage her sore nape—a physical manifestation of her stress—and feels the necklace that holds her wedding band. She remembers the way Mina looked directly into her eyes, saying the words _I do,_ gently slipping the ring on her finger. Mina was right—it doesn't matter that the wedding was not as over the top as she wanted it to be, or that they had an Elvis Presley minister sign their marriage certificate. The important thing is that they did it with each other. 

“Whoever decided to put that grand piano downstairs is a genius!”

Nayeon snaps out of her thoughts, and looks up to see a very excited Dahyun. “Hey, is it 6 already?’

“5:25 to be precise. You should buy a car now that you’re here cause I’m about to start charging you for my services.”

“I don’t know. I like having you chauffeur me around town.” Nayeon jokes.

“Ha! Funny.” Dahyun had entered the office, sitting on the other side of Nayeon's office desk. "So? Who thought of the grand piano?"

"Ah, Rosé did. She plays the piano. Sometimes she puts on a show for the staff. But it adds up to the whole aesthetic of the lounge, right?"

"Yeah, yeah." Dahyun agrees. "Can I play it too?"

Nayeon furrows her eyebrows, but she's amused. "You're playing again?" 

"I'm… learning to play again."

"Well that's great. You can play that piano anytime you want." Nayeon starts clearing up her desk. "You're here early. You didn't have to work overtime tonight?"

"Nah, I worked too hard the last couple of days. I think I deserve this break." Dahyun watches her best friend. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

 _Yeah, something’s definitely off._ “O-kay.” Dahyun decided to let it go, and cleared her throat. She actually had a more important matter to ask Nayeon. "Uh, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"When did you know that you're over Momo unnie?"

Nayeon was taken aback. "What? Why are you asking—"

"I asked you first… so?"

"Um, well, when I fell for Mina." The older Korean answered.

"But you've been with lots of people before Mina."

"Yesss," She drags on. "But those _lots of people_ only helped me forget about Momo. Mina, she… she helped me totally get over her. You know, move on."

Dahyun just nods, letting that answer sink in.

“Okay, my turn,” Nayeon scoots closer, leaning on her desk. "Why did you ask?" She watched the younger girl sinks back to her seat. “Does it have anything to do with Sana?”

Sighs. “Obviously you know Sana and I are… friends, again. And you know I've been seeing someone for a while now...”

Nayeon nods. “Hmm.” But she still thinks her best friends are made for each other.

“I didn’t tell you guys about her when we were first going out cause I wasn't even sure if it's just a short term thing or something. You know what I mean, right?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Nayeon totally gets what her best friend's referring to. 

"So now, it’s been two months and I think I’m… I think I’m actually falling for her. And I feel like I’m ready to introduce her to you, but I’m not sure how…” Dahyun bites her lip. “Cause she’s someone you already know."

_Oh._

Yes. The universe is _definitely_ trying to shake things up.

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_TWICE's Mina was spotted entering a residential building in Gangnam in the late hours of the night. Source says that it wasn’t the first time the idol was seen going in and out of the building. See photos here._

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Lisa's going to be a recurring character in this AU.  
> Momo dating Chaeng?  
> Sana? Dahyun?  
> And Minayeon married >_<  
> What do you guys think?  
> I really love reading your comments.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed.  
> And this is just an AU :)

**nabong:**

You know you can’t avoid me forever

**dub:**

I know i know

**nabong:**

And you CAN’T use work as an excuse

**dub:**

I know

Im sorry but something came up

And they need me to look at it

**nabong:**

I know you've a lot going on now

But you can’t just drop a bomb like that 

And then leave me wondering when it’ll explode

**dub:**

Huh?

Your metaphors confuse me

**nabong:**

Whatever

Look we’re going to have that talk

**dub:**

Yes we will

But not tonight

I’ll be working late

**nabong:**

Then you better be ready to make breakfast tomorrow

**dub:**

Call

Please dont say anything to Sana yet

**nabong:**

I won’t 

That’s not my job

That’s yours

_Of course._ Dahyun puts her phone down on the table right next to her laptop. She really didn’t mean to leave Nayeon with a cliff-hanger, but work did ask for her to finish at least one concept to be presented to JYPE for approval. Twice's world tour is only two months away, and everyone at _Monster Productions_ are working their butts off to finish everything on time. 

"You know Naynay won't stop bothering you til she gets what she wants. And right now what she wants is a chance to smack some senses into your pretty little purple head.”

"I know." Dahyun looks at the older Japanese sitting across her in the booth. "You talked to her yet? You told her anything?" 

"Of course not. But she really thought I was your _mystery girl_." Momo air quotes as she chuckles. 

"God. That little birthday camping we did two years ago left such an impression, huh?"

"You missing that flight because of said birthday camping with me? Yeah, I don't think they’ll ever forget that." Momo joked. "But seriously, now that they’re both back for good, it’s only just a matter of time before all of you run into each other. That’s most likely to happen here and you don’t want that to happen by accident.”

“I know. It’s just, I thought I have to tell them separately, you know? I’m not sure I can handle their reactions at the same time. I mean, I can barely handle Nabong's."

“What about Sana?"

"Well… she told me she's fine with me dating again."

Not quite the answer Momo was looking for, but that will do. For now.

"Good for you then." The café owner raises the hot cup of grapefruit tea to Dahyun, cheering for the younger girl.

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_BP’s Lisa confirms relationship with non-celebrity girlfriend through her personal online account_

_YG Entertainment, home to BP, also confirmed the relationship: “We have always supported our artist’s personal choices and we would like to request for everyone to give the lovely couple their privacy.”_

_BP’s Lisa spotted out and about with her non-showbiz girlfriend. Date night?_

_Many BP fans are supportive of Lisa’s recently confirmed relationship. “Normalize KPop idols dating whoever they want to date.”_

_Only 2 months after the Dispatch reveal, YG Entertainment announced that BP’s Lisa and her non-showbiz girlfriend have decided to part ways after dating for over 3 years: “The break-up was amicable.”_

Mina reads through all the online articles about Lisa’s relationship as she sits in her parked car, waiting. She’s trying to figure out how the whole _Dispatch reveal_ affected the idol’s career, how the public reacted to it, how it could have ended the idol’s relationship. There are hundreds of articles, some even have pictures of the non-showbiz ex-girlfriend, and having that much attention thrown at her in a span of just a few days could be too much to handle. 

Mina feels sorry for the girl. She, herself, has been in the industry for almost ten years now, and even she still gets overwhelmed with everything from time to time.

Maybe she should reconsider her plans to go public with her own relationship. 

When she saw the photos of her sneaking into Nayeon’s apartment, she thought it’d be like the first step in revealing their relationship. She’s been mentally preparing for the potential backlash, and she really feels like she’s ready. 

But Nayeon’s not. How could the girl be ready when Mina hasn’t really laid out her plans? 

And then of course, there’s _the_ much bigger issue of them being already married. 

_Ugh._

Knock, knock.

Mina snaps out of her thoughts to unlock the passenger door, and watches as Nayeon gets in.

“Sorry, thought you’re on the other side.” Nayeon explains as she leans in to kiss her girlfriend. 

“I was thinking of waiting there, but too many kids were hanging outside of 7-eleven, so…” Mina locks her phone, and starts the car. She glances to her side, waiting for the other girl to secure her seatbelt. “You ready?”

That’s the question Nayeon’s been asking herself since she woke up. 

Dr. and Atty. Myoi had already returned from their trip, and Mina scheduled the much ~~dreaded~~ awaited FaceTime with her parents. 

So is Nayeon ready? Like is she really ready to talk to her girlfriend's parents, and tell them all about their little Vegas adventure? God, she’s so scared of what their reaction will be. Especially since she made a promise to Mina’s father that she’ll still formally ask for her hand in marriage. 

“Baby?” Mina reaches over to squeeze Nayeon’s hand. 

“Huh? Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.” _Please kill me now._

“Okay.” Mina lets out a heavy sigh before she puts the car on drive. _Here we go._

***

_Standing in the altar with an Elvis Presley minister and an Elton John impersonator (who’s also going to be the witness to the ceremony) playing a soft piano version of “Chapel Of Love”, Nayeon waits for Mina. She breathes out, playing with the engagement ring on her finger when the music changes to the bridal march, just in time for the doors to open._

_This is it. They're really doing it. They’re moments away from making one of the biggest decisions of their lives._

_She immediately turns to the door, and she swears her heart had stopped beating. Watching Mina walk down the aisle feels like watching one of those classic romantic movies—it’s mesmerizing, it takes your breath away, it makes you feel excited, and thrilled, and oh so lovestruck._

_Mina looks so angelic yet so badass in her all-white suit, carrying a bouquet of white roses and pink peonies, a playful smirk on her face._

_She feels amazing too. Yes, it came as a total surprise when Nayeon asked if she wanted to get married in Las Vegas (of all places). But in the end, she knows that it didn’t really matter where the wedding takes place as long as it’s with the love of her life._

_A few more steps and Mina’s finally standing in front of Nayeon. They hold each other’s hands, stare into each other’s eyes. It’s pretty obvious that none of them were really listening to what the minister was saying, because really, nothing else matters when they’re together. Minister Elvis Presley had to even clear his throat several times to get the couple’s attention._

_They exchanged their I do’s, kissed under the floral arch, and walked out of the Graceland Wedding Chapel as Mrs. Nayeon Im-Myoi and Mrs. Mina Sharon Myoi-Im._

***

Ten minutes.

It’s been ten minutes since Mina had shown her parents the marriage license that she and Nayeon had signed in Las Vegas. It’s been ten minutes, and the Myois have not shown any type of reactions yet. The older couple just stopped moving as if their FaceTime connection had been frozen. 

Mina’s room had never been this quiet. Like seriously, the silence was deafening.

“M-mom? Dad?” 

Dr. Myoi finally looks at his daughter, but his facial expression is still hard to read. A few seconds passed before he stood up to leave. Atty. Myoi could do nothing but watch her husband. She understands him though—they were both caught off guard. 

“I’ll talk to your dad, sweetie.” Atty. Myoi smiles, trying to hide the obvious disappointment in her voice. “And uh, send me a copy of that license. Okay? Have a nice evening. Both of you.”

Video call ends.

 _That's it._ Mina groans, dropping her head. 

Nayeon closes the laptop, setting it aside before scooting on the bed, closer to her broken hearted girlfriend. “Hey, come here...” She whispered, pulling Mina in for a tight embrace.

Mina just allows her body to just be held. She already had a feeling that the talk would end this way, though that didn't stop her from hoping for the best. That look on her father's face is something she's never seen before—not even when she told him about her sexuality.

“Why’d you say yes? When I asked you to marry me? Why’d you say yes?”

“Cause I want to be your wife?” Mina frowns. “You _are_ having regrets.”

“I wasn’t. It was the best decision of my life… Until I saw that look on your dad’s face tonight, I wasn’t second guessing what we did. Now I feel like such an ass for even suggesting Vegas.”

“If I’d said no, what would you have done?”

“I don’t know, I just—huh.” Nayeon tightens her hold of the girl. “I’m so sorry. I’ll fix this, okay? I’ll talk to your dad—”

“No,” Mina wraps her arms around the other girl’s body. “You’re not going to do it alone. Promise me you won’t talk to him alone.”

“I promise.” Nayeon can definitely see how that talk had affected her girlfriend. The way she can feel Mina's heavy breathing, the girl’s extremely upset. She unconsciously starts to gently rock their bodies back and forth, trying to calm their thoughts. “You want something to drink? Water? Wine?” 

“Wine would be nice.” The Japanese girl quietly answered.

“White?”

“Hmm.”

“Okay.” Nayeon kisses the top of Mina’s head. “I’ll be right back.” She pulls Mina’s chin up, meeting her lips in a sweet, reassuring kiss before hopping off the bed. “And I’ll make sure not to open a new bottle.” 

***

The _girls_ had moved into one of the most expensive residential buildings in Cheongdam when some fans had started leaving gifts and letters at the gate of their old house—they needed more security. They were put into two separate units on the same floor—Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung live together in one while Jihyo, Mina, and Tzuyu share the other. Nayeon’s been in both places many _many_ times before (birthdays, movie nights, when-one-member-wants-to-show-off-her-cooking-skills night, and of course Mina nights), and she’s memorized exactly where everything is in _JiMiTzu’_ s unit. 

_Fuck._

She leans in on the countertop, dropping her head low. Now that she’s alone in the kitchen she can finally release the air that’s been stuck in her chest since Mina dropped the _M word_ to her parents.

She doesn't like seeing that defeated look on Mina’s pretty face. _And it’s my fucking fault._ She stayed like that for a couple of minutes, huffing out one last time before composing herself. Mina needs her to be her rock right now, and that’s exactly what Nayeon should be.

She’s opening the top left cupboard to grab two wine glasses when she hears footsteps coming. Thinking that Mina may have gotten impatient, she quickly moves to the built in wine chiller, taking out a bottle of cold wine.

Then the footsteps suddenly stop, and a loud gasp echoes in the quiet kitchen. 

Nayeon looks up. _Huh?_

Her jaw nearly drops when she recognizes who just stepped into the kitchen—the last person she’d expect to see at 11:45 PM.

“Sana?”

_Oh fuck._

"What—what are you—what?" Nayeon's just so confused right now. _Why is she here? At this hour? She left the office before I did. What’s happening?_

Questions start running through her head as she stares at the girl in front of her. 

Sana, on the other hand, couldn't move. It's like she's frozen on the spot. She could see the gears running through her best friend's head, trying to figure out why she's there.

This deer-in-the-headlights look on Sana’s face is something that Nayeon had gotten used to seeing back in L.A. whenever the former's been caught doing the walk of shame. _She just had sex._

Sana opens her mouth to say something, but what should she say? She makes another attempt, but, yeah, no, she still has no words. The girl tried for the third time when—

"Baby? You in here? Just take any bottle you…" Mina trails off when she sees the two girls standing in the kitchen, facing each other, both looking stunned. _Shit._ "...want..."

The other Japanese girl takes that as her cue. "Yeah, so uh, I'll see you for tomorrow." She gives Nayeon a quick bow before practically running out.

"Huh? Wh—?" The interior designer tried to call out, but it's too late.

Sana’s already gone.

***

**Wlgy:**

You home?

**Tksk:**

Not yet. I stopped by 711 

Got hungry

**Wlgy:**

You still hungry? 

After that meal I served you? Lol

**Tksk:**

OMFG SHUT UP

🙄

**Wlgy:**

So I got a text

Nayeon saw you? 

**Tksk:**

She did. I think she’s staying over

So yk try to avoid her in the morning

We need to talk first

**Wlgy:**

Got it

Just lemme know when you get home

😚

Sana locks her phone, and taps it on her forehead. _Fuck, this is not good._

***

“How’d you know?”

Mina sits on her bed, sipping a glass of wine, watching Nayeon pace around her bedroom. "Well, I kind of walked in on them making out in the living room."

"Ew, sorry you had to witness that.” Nayeon still can't believe it. "And the other girls?"

Mina gives her a tentative nod. "Apparently I wasn't the one who caught them doing stuff on the couch."

"Ugh god, that's even worse." Scratching the tip of her nose. This is one of those moments that Nayeon just never saw coming. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I only just found out yesterday. I'm actually still processing it. And I don't think that’s something you should hear from me. Sattang said she'll talk to you."

Nayeon begins pacing again.

“Baby?”

“It’s just, you know I’m still rooting for her and Dubu to like, get back together.” Then Nayeon quickly adds. “Even though Dubu’s also dating.”

“I know, but she told me they’re just hanging out. You know, nothing serious." Mina carefully said. "And Ji’s one of the best people in the world. You know that, right?”

Nayeon’s now rubbing her temples. A million things are still running through her head. Why didn't Sana tell her sooner? Is Dr. Myoi really mad at her? Should she still call Mina’s dad? Should she go to the Minatozaki restaurant, or just wait for tomorrow to talk to her best friend? Yeah, she should just wait. She should totally stay, Mina needs her. But Sana... _Damn it._ Now Nayeon’s so conflicted.

“Yeah, she is. I just, huh, I—I, it’s just too much. I mean, tonight’s talk with your parents. Your dad. And then this, I—” She goes to hold one side of her nose, breathe through it, and then exhale through the other—it’s a technique she’s learned to help calm her nerves, but it’s not working tonight. Nayeon groans in frustrations, and gives Mina a look. 

A look that tells the KPop idol that there’s only one thing her girlfriend wants to do right now. “You want to walk out, don’t you?”

Nayeon stops pacing. Damn, Mina knows her so well. There were many times in the past when Mina would ask that, but she’d chosen to stay and talk and work things out. Not tonight though. Everything about tonight is stressing her out, and she just needs to clear her head. So she closes her eyes, slightly raising her eyebrows as if to say yes—answering her girlfriend’s question. 

Mina purses her lips together—she wants Nayeon to stay, of course. She needs Nayeon to hold her—tell her everything will be fine. But Mina can also see that her Korean love’s not in the right state of mind. So she nods to the door, silently telling Nayeon that it’s okay to go.

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_JYP Entertainment drops TWICE World Tour official dates: click here for more info._

_TWICE fans uncover photos of Mina at the same residential building from four years ago. Several theories had already popped up on social media why the idol’s been spotted there before. ONCE, what’s your favorite?_

“Is Nayeon mad at me?” 

Mina immediately locks her phone. She didn’t notice Jihyo arriving. “Uh, no. No, I don’t think so.”

“Are _you_ mad at me?” 

“No.” She looks at her best friend, watching the group’s leader take a seat beside her on the floor. “If anything I think _you’re_ still mad at me.” 

“Meh,” Jihyo shrugs. “I was just shocked. I mean, you never told any of us about your plans to propose. We could’ve helped, you know, maybe sing a love song that you’ve written, dance a little. I guess I just wanted us to be part of that special life-changing event.” 

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to upstage Nayeon and her plans for a grand romantic over the top proposal.”

“Well, at least we still have that. And your wedding, of course.” Jihyo pointed out. 

“Right, um, Ji—”

“Mina!”

Everyone’s heads turn to the door to see a red-faced Jeongyeon, followed closely by one of the group’s managers.

“You’ve got some explaining to do.”

***

Nayeon didn’t get to have breakfast with Dahyun. She spent the night staring at the concrete ceiling of her office, and came home at around 6 AM. The younger girl had already left for work—she even left a note along with her own version of Nayeon’s breakfast of the champions, ready for re-heat. 

It feels like she’s betraying Dahyun since she can’t tell her about Sana’s _thing_ with Jihyo. And she feels like an ass for knowing that Dahyun’s falling for her new girl, Irene, and not being able to tell Sana about it. _Why me? Why do I have to know all this stuff? Why?_

“You’re avoiding me.”

She looks up to see Sana with her hands on her waist, standing by the door. “What? No, no, no.”

“Really? Cause you’re only a few feet away from my office but you still waited for Rosé to come back from her coffee run to have her pick up the docs you needed to sign.” 

“I… huh, I’m sorry, I just… It’s—I’m sorry." Nayeon stuttered. "Okay. Okay. I was caught off guard. I just… I never thought you and her could, you know, happen. It’s… it's crazy.”

"I know," Sana agrees. “It’s crazy.” 

“How?”

“So remember I volunteered to help get her those furniture from the L.A. showroom? Before we flew to Hawaii?”

"Right, for her new bed.”

“Yes, for Ji’s new bed. So we kind of bonded over that and we got to talk about our past. You know, me and…" She gestures. "Her and…" She gestures again— _jeez, is it really that difficult to say their names?_ "And, well, I guess one thing led to another. We got great feedback about the bed though.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t need to hear that.”

“Look, she and I, we have an agreement, okay? It’s nothing serious. We’re two consenting adults who just want to get off without all the complications of being in a relationship.”

“Oh my god, you make it sound so casual.”

“Cause it _is_. It’s just casual sex. Don’t pretend like you don’t know all about it.” 

"Fine, fine." Nayeon rolls her eyes. "Just don’t get yourself hurt, okay? Or Jihyo. She’s Mina’s best friend. I don’t want my wife to go all ninja assassin on you.” _Oops. Shit. Play it cool. Don’t make her see you sweating cause you said wife. Act like you’ve been saying it all the time._

“I’m a big girl, I know what I’m doing.” _Eh? Since when did she refer to Mina as her wife?_

“So, ahem," Nayeon clears her throat. "Now that we got that out of the way, I signed the docs and sent a few copies to L.A. We're all set?"

"Yeah, that should be it for now. And I'll tell Dubu asap, okay?" Sana approaches the desk, picking up the papers. "Um, why don’t we have dinner? It’s been a while since the _Trio_ hung out. What do you say?" 

“Works for me.” Nayeon smiles. Now she doesn't have the burden of delivering the message to her other best friend.

"Yay. Oh, wait you forgot this one." Sana shows a page that the interior designer missed. She places it back on the desk, hands Nayeon a pen, and just watches her sign it.

_CEO Calling…_

Nayeon swipes her buzzing phone to answer her brother's call, putting it on speaker since she's still signing the document.

" _Hello, broth—"_

" _Save it.”_ Jinyoung’s harsh tone cut her off. _“Mina’s dad called. What were you thinking getting married in Vegas? A 24-hour chapel, really?! What the hell, Nayeon?!”_

Nayeon froze. Needless to say, the girl wished she didn’t put that call on speaker. Or answer it at all.

***

Nayeon and Mina are in the boardroom with JYPE's new CEO, Daniel. They were told that Atty. Myoi had spoken with the CEO, since she is Mina’s lawyer, and had requested to make arrangements regarding her daughter's situation. 

The other members are also present, along with all their managers, and the company’s PR directors.

“Obviously, there’s nothing else we can do about it. You’re legally married and honestly, that doesn't violate anything in your contract. But we still have to keep all of these on the low. So strictly no wedding rings. No photos of you two together on _any_ public events. Ms. Im, I believe your company’s set to open next month, is that right?”

“Yes.” Nayeon nods. 

“I know you’ve extended an invitation for the girls to come but I have to decline it. If you’re also attending the concert, which of course you are, kindly cover up and use the artist’s exits and entrances, yada, yada yada…” The CEO chuckles. “You already know all of these protocols.”

Yes, Daniel’s being candid about it, but only because he senses that everyone’s already tensed.

Jeongyeon hadn’t looked at the married couple since the meeting started.

Jihyo’s feeling a little confused—she had just gone from being angry at Mina for getting engaged without prior notice, to being embarrassed because she and Sana got caught. And now she’s mad that her best friend’s _actually_ already married.

And the maknaes feel bad for their unnies—Chaeyoung and Tzuyu can see the stress that this whole situation is giving the three older members. They just don’t want to add any more drama to the mix. 

“Mina, you’ve been talking to Yongjin-ssi about going public, right?"

“Yes.” The Japanese girl quietly replied. She’s still wondering why her mother would contact their company without consulting with her first. _Yeah, right, like how I consulted her first when I got married._

Nayeon turns to look at Mina. _So, she was really serious about us coming out._

“I, personally, have no problems with that. You know I'm all about embracing your true self and loving who you want to love.” Daniel continues, throwing a quick glance at Jihyo’s way. “But it has to be done the right way.” 

He gestures for the PR director to hand out a file—one copy for everyone in the room. 

“First, a proposal. After the world tour, we'll release an official statement about the engagement. One or two years after that, then we can announce the wedding.”

“Wait, what? Two years?”

“Mina, you're an _idol_. On top of that, you’re part of the most popular group in the country. People look up to you. They _follow_ what you say or do. So you can’t just rush things like this cause then, your fans would think it’s okay to rush things like this.”

Nayeon noticed it as soon as Mina started fidgeting in her seat, nervously playing with the sleeve of her hoodie. 

She wants to reach over and hold her wife's hands so bad, but she’s not comfortable showing this kind affection in front of these PR people—people she’s never met before. 

“Both of you have been really discreet in the past and we appreciate that. But you need to be a thousand percent more discreet now.” Daniel leans in on the table, looking directly at Mina. “Especially the tour’s a few months away. Remember our goal. It’s for this tour to go down in KPop history as the _most successful_ tour of all time. We don’t need any more bad publicity and _this_ , this could potentially be a really bad one.”

***

Three bowls of Mrs. Minatozaki’s famous ramen, cold beers, too many side dishes, and the warmth of the restaurant’s back kitchen—the perfect combination for a perfect group hang. It was supposed to be a great night. You know? Friends catching up, laughing at each other’s silly mistakes at work, making ridiculous bets. 

It shouldn’t be this quiet and awkward.

Well, the awkward air is just between Nayeon and Sana. Dahyun… She was just there. The only one who’s actually eating the meals that were prepared for them. 

“You want more dumplings?” Dahyun pushes the bamboo steamer close to Nayeon.

“No, thank you.” The older Korean replied without looking up from her ramen bowl.

“O-kay?” Dahyun furrows her brows, shifts her attention to the Japanese girl sitting to her right. “Sana?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Sana answered, absent-mindedly playing with her food.

 _What is this?_ Dahyun picks up a dumpling and drops it on her own bowl, eyeing both her best friends who hadn’t looked at each other since they arrived. “Lovely dinner we’re having, huh?”

Nayeon and Sana just mumble something.

“Okay, that’s it!” Dahyun drops her chopsticks. “Seriously, what’s going on? I feel like one of you’s about to explode if I look away even for like a sec.”

“What’s going on?” Sana sarcastically parroted as she leans back to her seat, crossing her arms. “Ask your best friend what’s going on? Better yet, ask her what she’s been hiding from us?”

“Huh?” 

“I was just waiting for the right time to tell you.” Nayeon said in her defense. “And it's not like you don’t have anything to hide.”

Yeah, Dahyun’s really confused now.

“So I’m sleeping with Jihyo, what about it?” Sana scoffed.

“Wait, what?!” The younger Korean did a double take. “You’re sleeping with—” 

“It’s nothing compared to you lying about getting married in Vegas. You want to explain that?” Sana continues, clearly not hearing Dahyun’s reaction.

Dahyun looks like her monolids have expanded, turning to face Nayeon. “You got married in Vegas?!”

“Cause we asked you about it, remember? And you flat-out lied to our faces?" Rapper Sana is back, and she’s still ignoring Dahyun’s interjections. "What for? We’re supposed to be best friends, right? Don’t you trust us?”

Dahyun abruptly stood up, and slams her hands on the table just in time for Mr. Minatozaki to come in carrying a tray of freshly made choco pie.

Little did they know that the gentle had heard them arguing and chose this moment to interrupt.

"Here you go, kids. Enjoy." The gentle old man placed the tray down on the table then left before any of the Trio could say _thank you._

It’s rare for Nayeon and Sana to see this side of the younger girl so they both release a deep sigh, slowly relaxing in their seats. Dahyun, on the hand, is still trying to process what she’s heard. She’s got too many questions, and she needs answers. But right now, she needs to calm her nerves.

***

“You got more?” Nayeon approaches the worn out bench at the back of the Minatozaki restaurant. 

Dahyun furrows her eyebrows. The last time she saw Nayeon smoking was in their first year of college, when the interior designer was having a hard time adjusting to the cold Korean weather. Nevertheless, she hands Nayeon the pack.

Nayeon takes the empty space beside Dahyun, gestures for the younger girl to light her up. 

She takes a long drag of her cigarette. Holding her breath. Feeling the nicotine burn inside until her lungs ask for her to just exhale it all out.

A few minutes passed before Sana also walked out of the kitchen, carrying a small bag of trash. She stood by the bin for a while, watching her two best friends. Sighs. Dusting her hands clean, she approached the two other girls. 

It’s either the bench has shrunk, or they’re getting big because Sana had to exert a bit of effort squeezing herself beside Dahyun. Once settled, the Japanese girl lightly nudged Dahyun, asking for a smoke too. 

_So we’re all smoking now, great._

The Trio sit in silence. Just feeling the cold air brush through their cheeks. Tasting the bitterness of the tobacco stick burning. 

Until Nayeon decides to break the silence. “I’m sorry.” 

Dahyun can’t help but click her tongue in disappointment. “Why’d you hide that from us? I mean, did you think we wouldn’t understand?” 

“It’s not like that. It’s just, Mina and I agreed to tell our family first.”

“And we’re not your family?” Dahyun almost pouts.

“You are. You know you both are. I wanted to tell you as soon as we got to Vegas. But I—I,” Nayeon drops the cigarette on the ground, stepping on it—her throat’s starting to itch. “I was scared of what you guys will think of me. Cause you know this is not how I work. Right? I mean, I _plan_ things. It took me six months to give her that promise ring and it’s like, all the waiting I did was all for nothing.”

“Do you think you made a mistake?” Sana asked.

“No, no. Marrying Mina would _never_ be a mistake.” Exhales deeply. “But…” 

“There you go.” Dahyun knew it.

“What?” Sana expected it.

“My overthinking brain just won’t stop… thinking. You know? I haven’t done everything the right way. I haven’t properly proposed. And I had all these plans for like, engagement party, wedding preparations, bridal gown shopping. And then now her dad’s upset cause I made him a promise that I _obviously_ broke. Jinyoung’s probably on his way here to kill me. And her company’s on our asses so, huh, _yeah,_ I’m overthinking more than I usually do.”

Sana flicks her cigarette away. “I mean, I’m still a little hurt with all the secrecy but you know we’re always on your side.” 

“Yeah. No matter what happens, you have us.” Dahyun agrees. “We’ll always be ready to protect your ass. And Mina’s too.” 

(So you see _not_ everything that happened in Vegas, should stay in Vegas.) 

“Thank you.” Nayeon extends her arms to hug both girls—Dahyun’s sandwiched in the middle, as usual. “So much. And I’m really _really_ sorry.” She pat the Japanese arms. “You know, for blurting out about your thing.” 

“About that…” Dahyun struggles to look at Sana without having Nayeon let go of the hug. “Jihyo, huh? _The_ GodJihyo herself.” 

“Yeah.” Sana leans her head on Dahyun’s shoulders. “Is that okay?”

“Why are you asking me?” Dahyun frowns.

“Well, you know… Just want to make sure we’re still cool.”

“Of course we are.”

“Cool.” 

“Cool.”

Nayeon was starting to move away. She wanted to actually scold Dahyun this morning. “Well, can I just say, dating someone from work could be distracting and—” 

“And nothing.” Sana cuts in, grabbing Nayeon’s arms, pulling her back into their group hug. “We’re both really happy for you, Dahyunie. Right, Nabong?” 

There’s a hum of acknowledgement from the older Korean. 

"Wait, you know?" Dahyun's confused.

“Ah-huh. Rosé told me.” Seeing the more confused look on Dahyun’s face, Sana adds. “Cause your cousin told her.”

“Doc Jen?” Nayeon scoffs. “How did she even know?”

“She went to the same high school as Irene…?” Sana explains. “Batch mates, I guess..”

“I’m going to kill her.” Dahyun mutters under her breath.

“Anyway, I approve. Irene's pretty. She seems smart. And scary. But if she ever hurt you…”

There’s another hum of acknowledgement, this time from the younger Korean. 

“I’m still bummed we didn’t get to throw you like a bachelorette party or something.” The Japanese girl said, patting Nayeon's head.

“You think you can talk your dad into giving us one those special bottles of saké?” Nayeon asked with a mischievous grin.

“I don’t think he’ll even—”

“I can.” Dahyun volunteers. “He likes me more than he likes Sana.”

The Trio spends a couple more minutes at the back of the Minatozaki restaurant. This was really their safe space. So many memories were made right on this bench, so many funny moments, and so many epic fails that just made their bond stronger than anything else in the universe. 

Click. Click. 

And these moments should be captured in film. That’s one way of preserving them, making them last for a long time. Right? 

***

Mina patiently waits for the next available elevator. She’s so sleepy.

She could’ve been home earlier. But she purposely extended her dance training, so that she wouldn’t have to ride in the same service with her other members. Even though her marriage didn’t affect the _group,_ she knows that it had an effect on their friendship. And the other girls needed some space.

“Hey.”

Mina lazily looks up from her phone. “Hi. Late nights for you too?”

“Oh, and early morning too. I have to be back at the dance studio at like, 4 AM.” Lisa checks her watch. “I’m probably just going to take a shower and nap then I’m off again.”

Mina just gives her a tired smile.

“I shouldn’t really be complaining when you guys are preparing for a tour and they still got you to perform for GDA.”

“Well, it’ll help promote the tour so…”The Japanese ballerina shrugs.

_Life of an idol._

“Hey, um, I read the article about you, you know, visiting your girlfriend’s place?”

“Ah, that one.” Mina exhales deeply. “Yeah, the company’s not too happy about that.” 

“Oh, I bet.” Lisa definitely knows a thing or two about agencies controlling their artist’s personal lives. “It’s really none of my business, but knowing that you’ve been dating for so long, Dispatch is going to have a field trip if they find out. So, you know, be extra careful.”

_What more if they find out we’re more than just dating?_

***

**blushy:**

Finally got home

Hope your dinner date went better than mine

ILY GN

**softie:**

Goodnight

I’ll cook breakfast and send it to you tomorrow

I’ll make it less spicy

Ok? I love you

To be honest, Nayeon feels a lot lighter. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. And even though the _reveal_ of her and Mina’s Vegas adventures didn’t go as planned, it’s still a relief that people now know. Well, people close to them, that is.

Standing in front of the 7-eleven frozen section, she was deciding on what ice cream flavor to buy. She’s not quite sure if she wants the fudge brownie one or the mint chocolate one. 

Midnight cravings.

It’s already 1:30 AM, and she’s the only customer there.

_Meh, why not just get both._

Busy grabbing a pint of each flavor, she didn’t notice a man with a rather large camera secretly taking her photo from outside the store. 

After paying the cashier, Nayeon walks out of the store. She loves convenient stores that are just _conveniently_ near her place.

She’s ready to run across the street to her apartment building, when a man blocks her and snaps a photo. 

Thank god it didn’t have the flash on, otherwise it would’ve blinded Nayeon already.

“You’re Nayeon, right?” The man asks aggressively. “What’s your relationship with Mina?”

“What?!”

“You should stay away from Mina!” The man screams, taking another photo. "Stay away!"

“Oh my god!” Nayeon uses the paper bag to cover face. She tries to push the man away, but he isn’t budging.

Suddenly she hears a sound of something breaking. 

Lowering the paper bag, Nayeon sees the camera on the ground—shattered into many pieces—and the man who owns it being pinned to the store's pillar by a much larger _man in black_.

_Oh, no._

The man in black brings his wrist to his mouth, whispering. "JJ secured."

_I'm fucked._

Then a heavily tinted black SUV pulls over, another man in black jumps out of the car to approach the still shocked Nayeon.

“Ms. Im.” He bows. "This way please." Motions for her to follow him to the vehicle. 

It's like one of those scenes from the movies when the scrawny little kid gets bullied, and then gets saved by a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist man-child.

Only, in Nayeon's case, this is a flashback of her high school years when she used to sneak out of the house for midnight runs with Dahyun. And there's no philanthropist man-child, it's worse—it's her brother.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go!  
> Now everyone knows about Minayeon's Vegas adventure. Everyone, except for the general public of course.  
> Although it does smell like Nayeon's in trouble with Jinyoung in town.  
> GDA's coming up, should Mina invite NY to the show like she did before?  
> And of course we've got Sahyo, Dahrene.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta-ed.  
> Please excuse the errors.  
> >_<

Jinyoung paces the spacious living room of the presidential suite, looking out at the clear early morning skies, strategizing how to properly address the issue at hand. He didn’t have much time to prepare—he jumped on a plane to Seoul straight from Maldives as soon as he found out about his little sister’s Vegas adventures. 

Nayeon was just watching him. Waiting. Wondering why they're in a hotel. _Ding!_

**blushy:**

Youre not home

**softie:**

No, I'm with Jinyoung

He just arrived

I thought you're already sleeping

Where are you?

**blushy:**

Your apartment

**softie:**

Oh?

**blushy:**

Kinda wanted to surprise you

🙃

**softie:**

Aw Minari 😥

I’ll be there as soon as I can ok?

**blushy:**

I know

Say hi to Yong oppa for me

Then the door opens, and the Im siblings both look at the newcomer—the same _man in black_ that saved Nayeon earlier.

“You remember Johnny, right?” Jinyoung speaks up. “He was your bodyguard in high school. And he’s been looking after you since you got back.”

The man in black, Johnny, bows to Nayeon. The younger Im gives Johnny a nod of acknowledgement before turning to her brother. 

“And why can’t we do this reunion in my apartment?” She shrugs. “Couple of meters away from where you whisked me away?” 

Jinyoung spins around to face Nayeon, and the girl could swear she can see him glaring at her. “You think that was the first time someone followed you?!” 

It’s rare for Jinyoung to get mad at Nayeon, mostly because he really didn’t want to make a big deal of things she does. Not that Nayeon does a lot of questionable things. But this one was just _too_ big to ignore. 

“I promised Ma and Pops that I’d look after you. Raise you the way they would’ve. Be a good example for you. And I did my best to live up to that promise. And more importantly, I tried to be more just your brother. I wanted us to be friends. Like actual friends who tell each other things. So you _,_ doing this without telling me? It’s... it’s very disappointing.” 

“Yong, I’m…” Nayeon feels so bad for upsetting her brother. “I’m really really sorry. I just… I love her. I can’t wait to start my life with her.”

“Look, I get that. I do. But there wasn’t any need to rush it, right? I mean, are—are you pregnant?” Seeing the look on Nayeon’s face, he quickly adds. “No, don't answer that.”

Still, Nayeon chose to answer quietly. “None of us is pregnant.”

“People know you. People know her. And if someone, for whatever reason, thinks of looking your names up in the marriage records… all they need to do is go online.” 

“Oh.” _And that’s going to be a much bigger mess._ “God, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Exactly. Why didn’t you think of that?” Jinyoung takes a deep breath. “I’m working with her mom to try and hide it from public records, I don’t know. Until then, let’s hope no one gets _that_ crazy idea.” 

Jinyoung finally takes a seat.

“So, uh, how did it go with her dad?” Nayeon asked.

“Well, he’s really not happy. He said a few things. I’ve said a few things. But in the end, we just want the same thing. Safety, for both of you. Just give him time. What you two did was a _complete shock_ to everyone.”

“Right.”

“And here.” Jinyoung tossed a set of keys that Nayeon quickly caught. 

“What’s this?” 

Well, it’s a set of keys. For a unit. That Jinyoung purchased for her. Based on the documents that Johnny had just handed Nayeon. 

“You can move in in five days.” 

“Wait, what?” Nayeon scans the documents. “What about _my_ apartment?”

“It’s _your_ apartment.” He just shrugs, too tired to suggest anything. “And I actually have a favor to ask you…”

***

“Nippon?” Dahyun asks as she spreads butter all over her toast. “As in the _biggest paint company in the world_ Nippon?”

Sana nods, stirring her coffee. “Their matriarch was actually at Yong oppa's wedding.”

“The one with at least four bodyguards?”

“Yup, that’s the one.” Nayeon answered. “We want to keep the partnership but they’re still playing hard to get. Still picky with companies they affiliate themselves with, especially the ones that are from _across the sea_.” 

The Trio’s at _IM Interiors, LLC – Seoul,_ looking at the pictures of the unit Jinyoung bought Nayeon.

After last night at the hotel, Nayeon was escorted back to her apartment. She was excited to come home to Mina, but the girl’s already gone—leaving three GDA AAA passes for the Trio. She then decided to go to the office where Sana and Dahyun were already waiting for her. 

“What exactly do you have to do?” Sana leans back to her chair.

“Well, one of their board members is close friends with Momo’s dad. And Jinyoung wants them to see that our families still have a good relationship with each other, so I’m going to have to rub elbows with the Hirais.”

“Oh we all know _you’ve_ rubbed more than just an _elbow_ of _a_ Hirai.” Dahyun wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, making her best friends choke on their coffee. 

“Jesus fucking christ, Dahyun! That was—”

“Ah! Oh my god—” 

“What?!” The younger Korean laughs. “It’s true! You and Momoring...”

“—so out of line!”

“—never fucking say that again!” 

“Okay! Okay. Jeez. I was just trying to make you laugh.”

“You’re trying to make me throw up! Ugh, and I love this top.” Sana shots a death glare at Dahyun while she wipes the coffee stain on her shirt. “You owe me a top.”

The silence lasted for less than ten seconds before they all erupt into laughter. Nayeon starts hitting the Sana’s arms.

Sighs _._

They’re all coming down from their high when their eyes meet, and they all start wheezing again until there are actual tears in their eyes. 

They live for moments like this.

“Haaa… but seriously, ahem," Sana wipes her eyes, settling back into her seat. “What do you and Momo have to do?”

“Um… be seen together. Be at the same events. Visit Peaches more often.” 

“Oh no,” Dahyun sniffs. “This is going to be another fake date thing, huh?”

“No! What are you talking about? This is purely business related. Just so we can renew the contract.”

“And what did Momo say?”

Nayeon takes out her phone, opens her conversation with the café owner, and shows it to other girls.

**H Momo:**

Rubbing elbows ew 

LOL

Dahyun claps her hands in amusement, and they all give in to another round of laughing at the younger girl’s dirty humor.

“Ahh, _that’s_ why you needed a bodyguard again. Remember when your dad was closing the deal with those furniture people from Italy?” 

Nayeon suddenly remembers. “Oh yeah…” 

“You had that guy following us around cause the _competition_ might do something to you. Furniture world is a scary world after all.” 

“He was that scary guy that was always on his big bike, right?” Sana also remembers seeing that bodyguard during their first summer together. “He’d always park at the back of the restaurant.” 

“You know he was so discreet I could hardly remember him.” Nayeon thought out loud. 

“Well, you’re lucky he was there last night when that guy attacked you.” Dahyun pointed out. 

“I wasn’t attacked. I was just—” 

“ _Attacked_.” Sana reiterated. "Oppa said that wasn’t the first time, right? Have you told Mina?”

Nayeon shakes her head. “Not yet. I’ll tell her soon.” 

“And... what about your apartment?”

“Of course I’m keeping it.” Nayeon turns to Dahyun. “You’re still going to stay there, right?”

“If you want me to.” The girl shrugs.

They’ve had many great times spent at that apartment that none of them wants Nayeon to actually let it go. Not even Nayeon herself. 

The Trio finishes brunch in silence until Dahyun suddenly sits up straight. 

“ _SS_.” Dahyun snaps her finger as she remembers something else from the past. 

“Huh?”

“That was your code name before. Right? _SS_.”

“Ah,” Now, Nayeon knows what her best friend meant. “Apparently, it’s _JJ_ now.”

“Why _JJ_?” 

“I don’t know.” Nayeon shakes her head. “Jinyoung’s _MJ_.” 

“ _MJ_? As in Michael Jordan… Jackson… Michael Jackson?” Sana tries to decipher the code name. “So... that makes you Janet…” And she can’t help but snort at how cheesy it is.

“Yong oppa was _PS_. You want to know what that stands for?” Dahyun turns to Sana, showing off that mischievous smirk again. “Patrick Starr.” 

“So _SS?_ That makes you…” Sana thinks, looking at Nayeon. “Oh wow! Ha! Spongebob…” Blurted out, giggling. 

And laughter fills the entire office once again. 

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_JYP Entertainment issues warning regarding the spread of false facts and malicious photos of TWICE members. “We will be taking legal actions.”_

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_this is about those mina photos, huh?_

_uhm, what’s malicious about mina walking out a 711?_

_there was also that pic of a girl with peaches owner, op said it was cy but the pic was so blurry_

_GO GET THEM!_

_Twice sched be like: award shows, court, concert_

***

Golden Disk Awards is one of the major music awards ceremonies in the world of KPop. Many idols are invited to perform, and accept their awards. And since the event takes place a few days before Halloween, the organizers requested that all idols perform in costumes—should be fun! 

The venue is already packed with photographers, reporters, and fans are already lining up to get inside the arena.

Twice has already gone through stage rehearsal. Their make-up artists are now working on Jeongyeon and Jihyo, while Mina and Chaeyoung are getting into their stage outfits.

The Japanese member is struggling with her in-ear when Tzuyu sees her. “Unnie, let me help you there.”

“Thanks.” Handing the younger girl her in-ear. “Why did they make this so tight?”

“It looks so cool.” Tzuyu chuckles, complimenting Mina’s _The Mummy_ costume. “Nayeon unnie will come watch?”

“Yeah, they’re on their way.”

Mina checks her phone again. The last message she got from Nayeon was a short “ _On our way.”_ with a meme saying—” _I miss my significant otter.” God, she’s such a dork._

After securing the in-ear cords inside the Japanese’s costume, they sit beside each other—waiting for the other members to finish getting ready. 

“I’m—I’m so sorry, Tzu. I didn’t mean to stress you out with _this_.”

“I’m not stressed.” Tzuyu says with a straight face, then drops the act. “Okay, I’m a little stressed. I just don’t like it when you guys are like, angry at each other.” 

“I don’t like it either.”

“I was kind of angry at you too, you know. Cause we all made a promise to attend each other’s wedding, right? And you…” She chuckles, but there’s a hint of sadness there. “Didn’t invite us.” 

“Aw, Tzuyu-ya…” Mina reaches over to hold the maknae’s hand. “I’m so sorry. Things just happened so fast.”

“But _you’re_ happy?”

“I am.”

“Unnie, I know I’m the youngest in the group, but I’m not a kid anymore. You can talk to me about anything. Like, you don’t even have to think about it. Just tell me what goes on in your head. I can handle adult stuff."

“I know you can. You’ve always been the most level headed among us.”

“I mean, I may not give you advice yet but… I’ll always listen.” 

“Thanks. And you know you can also talk to me about anything.” 

Mina pulls Tzuyu for a hug.

“Ahem!” Someone cleared their throat very loudly. 

Twice’s foreign line pulls away from the embrace to see Chaeyoung smiling at them while removing the tapes that are covering her tattoos.

“Can I help you?” Tzuyu raised an eyebrow. 

“They want to retouch your make-up.” Chaeyoung basically pushes Tzuyu away from the ballerina. “And it’s my turn with Mina unnie.”

 _Great. They’re taking turns now._ Mina looks over and sees Jihyo giving her her signature smile, and Jeongyeon just nods at her. Seems like the members planned to talk to her one by one. 

They’re always in rehearsals, learning new choreos, recording new songs. It’s been so long since any of them had a real one-on-one talk with each other—something that Mina didn’t know she really needed. 

***

The Japanese girl just walks out of the washroom, going back to her VIP seat before the show starts when someone calls out.

“Sana!”

Sana turns around. "Oh, hey. Hi." Waving her candy bong to Irene.

“Hi.” Irene approached. “Uh, Dahyun with you?”

“Yeah, she’s… somewhere.” Sana chuckles. _This is awkward._ “You’re working tonight?”

“Yeah, someone needs to hold that fort down.” Irene clears her throat. _Yeah, this is awkward._ “Um, I couldn’t reach her... do you mind telling her to see me at the control booth later?”

“No, not at all. I’ll let her know. She probably turned her phone off by accident.”

“Yeah, she does that a lot.” 

“Right.” Sana nods. 

It’s clear that both girls are really not comfortable in each other’s presence. But Sana feels that this is the perfect time to actually give Irene _the talk._

“So, I know you know all about me, and my history with Dahyun. She’s my oldest friend. She’s the best girl in the world. So I just want to say… _Don’t_ hurt her.”

Irene can definitely hear the seriousness from the girl’s voice—heck, she can even feel Sana’s gaze piercing through her soul. _Oh, Dub’s right, this girl can be very scary._

“I won’t.” Irene replied sincerely. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Good.” Sana smiles, nods, and walks away.

***

_Best Female Group_

_Album of the Year_

_Artist of the Year_

After cheering her lungs out as Jihyo gave out a heartfelt speech, and watching the girl’s encore performance, Nayeon makes her way back to the backstage dragging Sana with her in case she needs back up (Dahyun’s off to see Irene). She hasn’t spoken to any of Mina’s members after their meeting at JYPE, she’s not quite sure what the other girls feel about her. 

The make-up artists and stylists greeted her as she entered the girls’ dressing room—she’s pretty sure they have no idea about the whole Vegas deal. 

A few minutes later, the door opens and the girls enter with their managers. Everyone in the room welcomes them with loud cheering.

“Congratulations!”

“Well done!”

“You girls deserve it!”

The girls start dancing around the room holding their trophies. Sana joins in the celebration, swinging with Jihyo. 

Mina scans the room, and squeals when she finally spots Nayeon. “Ah! There you are!”

She runs, attacking Nayeon with a bear hug that the latter almost lost her balance. 

“Oh! Hey, you.” Nayeon giggles, hugging her Japanese love back. “Congrats. You’re amazing.”

“Aw, baby, I missed you.” Mina sighs, burying her face into Nayeon’s hair. 

“I missed you too, my zombie wife.”

Mina steps back, throwing a questioning look at the girl. “I’m not a zombie. I’m a mummy.”

“Yes, _you’re_ mommy _.”_ Nayeon wiggles her brows suggestively, earning a slap on the arm from Mina.

“I really wanted to wait for you this morning. Was looking forward to you cooking breakfast, but we had an early call time.”

“I'm sorry. I didn’t know Jinyoung was coming and we had to discuss a few things.”

“Like my dad?” Mina pulls back, but keeps her hold on the other girl’s arms.

“Yeah.”

“And your bodyguard?” 

“How’d you know about that?” Nayeon squints, curious. 

“You know I would notice when a man suddenly starts appearing everywhere you go.” 

Mina definitely saw the man in black as soon as Nayeon arrived earlier—even though the man was keeping his distance. 

“You’re obsessed with me.” Nayeon jokes. 

“I am. He’s the one Yong oppa talked about?” 

“Yup.” Then behind Mina, she sees Jeongyeon staring at her. “And I think I need him now cause I’m pretty sure Jeong’s just about ready to kill me.”

“Come on, she’s not.” 

Mina turns around to see the eldest member of their group approaching them. She had her talk with all her members, and was able to basically clear the air between them. But the members, well Jeongyeon specifically, would like to have a one-on-one with Nayeon too. 

She knows Jeongyeon means no harm but just to tease Nayeon, she whispers. “Okay, maybe she is.” Before walking away to join the others. 

Nayeon just stares after Mina.

“Hey there, Im.” 

“Jeongyeon unnie.” Nayeon gives a bow to Jeongyeon, knowing full well how the latter gets annoyed when she uses formality to her. 

“Shut up.” Jeongyeon chuckles, loosening up her Mad Hatter costume. “So... I guess we better have the talk.”

“I guess we do. But don’t go all _mad_ on me.”

“Lame.” Jeongyeon nudges the interior designer. “There’s really nothing to talk about. I mean, you make each other happy. Given that you also make each other do crazy things, but still…” 

“Jeong, I—I didn't mean to get you all into trouble.” 

“Well, we’re not _yet_ in trouble… but, you know, let’s keep it that way.”

A comfortable silence falls between them. 

Then Momo also arrives.

“Naynay!” She called out before Chaeyoung Scissorhands practically jumped the café owner.

Jeongyeon cocks her head, watching the unlikely couple. “Can’t say I’m not worried about our little rebel and your ex though.” 

“Seriously?” Nayeon rolls her eyes.

Jeongyeon just continued laughing. “But we’re cool, Im.” 

Nayeon’s watching everyone who’s starting to pack their stuff when something catches her attention.

“Who’s that?” 

Jeongyeon looks at the door where Mina’s laughing with a lanky girl. “That’s… Lisa.” 

“Hmm.” 

“You do know about her, right?” Jeongyeon carefully asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I read about her. She’s Mina’s friend.” Nayeon shrugs. “Yours too… I guess.”

Jeongyeon side-eyed the girl. “R-right… right.” Not really wanting to say anything more because obviously Nayeon doesn't know about Lisa.

***

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Congrats to our girls!_

_BEST FEMALE GROUP 4 CONSECUTIVE YEARS!!!_

_Only TWICE would ever think of the most random costumes!_

_that a new song?!?!_

_i thought so too omg that remix of woohoo istg!!!_

_not at chaeyu going on vlive immediately right after the show_

_They keep saying red… is that a concert spoiler???_

_Chaeng keeps on humming strawberry but also saying they wont perform it. I have trust issues._

_anyone else heard mina laughing in the background?_

_need the vod now. need to know who jeonghyo were ganging up on at 9:22_

_saw that too. they turned the camera away pretty quickly_

_I think there are other people there_

_ofc there’d be other people. they’re in the dressing room_

_OH! I HAVE A SS. AND I THINK ONE OF THEM IS PEACHES’ MOMO AND THE OTHER?_

_***_

Sana immediately saw Dahyun leaning on a bollard as she drove out of the car park—wondering why the younger girl is smoking outside when the venue is almost deserted. 

She pulls over, and rolls her window down. “Waiting for your ride?”

“You’d think that I am, but no, I’m waiting for Nabong actually.”

“Why can’t you just say yes?” Feigning irritation. “Anyway, she already left. She took Yong oppa to the airport.”

“Leaving so soon, huh?”

“Yeah, well, he’s supposed to still be on his honeymoon, so...” She shrugs. “Hey, we thought you’d be leaving with your girl.”

“Yeah, no, she has a lot of work to finish. You? No midnight rendezvous with yours?” Dahyun teased.

“Nah.” Sana looks at the clock on her dashboard, tapping on the steering wheel. “You know, it’s only 10:30. Want to grab some drinks?”

“As long as you’re paying.”

Sana rolls her eyes, but beckons the younger girl over. 

***

**Yong:**

Sorry I caught you off guard with my visit

**Yeonnie:**

I’m sorry too, Yong

I know you’re still on your honeymoon

**Yong:**

Dont worry about it

And thanks for talking to Momo

**Yeonnie:**

Anything for the company

**Yong:**

Nayeonnie

Whether or not you move, that unit is yours

Think of it as a wedding gift

But for your safety and my peace of mind

Reconsider

Please 

**Yonnie:**

I will

Have a safe flight

***

**_YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR:_ **

_And I actually did save the best update for last :)_

_A few weeks before the much awaited opening of IM Interiors’ Seoul branch, interior designer Im Nayeon was seen attending last night’s GDA. What was she doing attending a music show? I don’t know. But one thing I'm certain is that it was a good publicity for their company._

_The elusive heiress was spotted leaving Gocheok Sky Dome with long time close friend Hirai Momo, owner of Peaches—emphasis on the “close”. Because is it just me, or do they actually look good together? Well I, for one, certainly hope for more Im-Hirai partnerships in the future. It’s looking good for the next generations of young entrepreneurs._

“Do you know who runs this blog?” Nayeon types her name in the search bar, and at least ten links appear on the screen—and only three articles have a picture of her. 

Momo shrugs, picking Boo up from his stroller, and setting him free to roam around Nayeon’s office. “I just stumbled upon it when I was checking out reviews for _Peaches._ ” 

“It’s probably just some intern who’s got way too much time on their hands.” Sana commented while helping herself with a slice of waffle Momo brought for breakfast. 

Dahyun gently puts her phone down on the table, looking at the other three girls. “Okay, I’m just going to say it. This particular blog looks like a making of a _dating news._ ”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s just a personal blog. It’s not even _news_.”

“Look at its profile. It’s a popular business blog. Getting thousands of hits on every article. People are reading this stuff.”

“So, let’s hope that neither Mina nor Chaeng reads it.” Nayeon interrupts her best friends’ little argument.

_Buzz._

Momo checks her phone, and groans. “Nope! A little too late for that.” The same article attached to the message sent by her Chaengie.

***

On the other side of the city, Mina and Chaeyoung are reading the article that Jeongyeon had shared with them. As it turns out, Jeongyeon’s chef father subscribed to the blog—and of course he knows about Nayeon—so he thought the girls should know. 

“Did Momo tell you anything about this?”

“Not yet. I’m guessing she will. Later.” Chaeyoung turns to Mina. “But those two are really close, right?”

“Seriously? Is this you getting jealous?” Mina teased.

“Nooo.” Chaeyoung drags. “It’s just… we haven’t really talked about like, past relationships, you know.”

“I get it. But theirs wasn’t _really_ a relationship, you know.”

“Weren’t they like, on and off for several years?”

“Yes, well... Um, so… yeah, they’re really close, but you have nothing to worry about.” 

It was a surprise when Chaeyoung told them about her and Momo dating. Everyone just thought that the young rapper just enjoys _Peaches’_ coffee way too much to be hanging out there almost everyday. 

“What’s so funny?” Mina asked when she noticed the younger girl quietly laughing.

“I just remembered when you used to whine about them before. When you and Nayeon unnie started going out?”

“Yeah, well, that was a long time ago.”

“Speaking of… You and Lisa unnie are friends again? Some of the new kids saw you two hanging out at _Back Alley._ ”

“New kids reporting to you now?”

“I _am_ mentoring a rapper trainee.” Chaeyoung explains. “So… you and the Thai superstar? Have you forgotten what she did?”

“Nooo.” Copying the younger girl’s tone earlier. “But that was a long time ago. You know we were friends before—”

“Before she betrayed you.” Chaeyoung pointed out. “Look, unnie, maybe you feel sorry for her cause of what happened recently, but she had that one coming.”

“Chaeng…” Mina said with a reprimanding tone. “Yeah, I feel sorry for her. Her girlfriend _just_ left her. And I just… I just want to find out what went wrong in her relationship so I can, you know, avoid doing it with mine.”

“Unnie, if you’re worried about the same thing happening to _your_ relationship, then just talk to your wife instead.”

The baby beast has a point.

***

Mina feels like she’s experiencing déjà vu standing in Nayeon’s empty bedroom. She fishes for her phone, and unlocks it.

“Hey Siri, call softie.” 

She goes to drop herself on the bed. Listening. Waiting for an answer on the other line.

Three rings, and just like clockwork, Nayeon picks up. “ _Hey, beautiful.”_

Mina puts the phone on speaker. “ _Hey, baby. So, either we’re on a crazy time loop or I have the worst timing cause I’m in your apartment again. And you’re not here. Again.”_

_“Oh, wow. This is what? The second time?”_

_“Yeah. Well, it’s past midnight and you’re not here so where are you?”_

_“In your bedroom.”_

_“Are you serious?”_ Mina props herself up on Nayeon’s bed.

 _“Ask Jihyo. She even made me tea.”_ Nayeon chuckles, getting comfortable in Mina’s bed. _“Let's not surprise each other like this.”_

_“Do you want me to go there, or are you going to come here?”_

_“Depends. Are you already under the covers?”_

_“Mm-hmm. Your bed’s really comfy, you know, you should try sleeping here.”_

_“I think I would.”_ Nayeon smirks, and then switches to her flirty tone. “ _What are you wearing?”_

Mina raised an eyebrow, amused. _“Under this thick parka? Those PJs that you love so much.”_

The Japanese throaty bedroom voice, and images of Mina in that skimpy sleepwear are enough motivation for Nayeon to run back to her apartment. _“Oooh, sexy…”_

_“What about you, Ms. elusive heiress?”_

And that was enough to kill the moment. Nayeon figures she should tell Mina about what’s going on.

 _“Yeah, about that blog.”_ Nayeon clears her throat. _“Um, I want to give you a heads up. We’re going to be hanging out quite often. Momo and I. Jinyoung asked it as a favor. For IMInt.”_

_“Oh. Okay. Well, you guys are friends. You hang out all the time.”_

_“Right.”_ Nayeon’s pretty sure that that wasn’t what Mina was expecting, but man, she’s got a more unexpected update for the girl. _“Mina… something happened a few nights ago.”_

 _“Okay?”_ Mina braced herself. 

_“I was uh, I was kind of attacked. And I think he was a fan of yours.”_

_“Oh my fucking go—did he hurt you?!”_ Mina bolts upright. _“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? What happened?”_

 _“I’m okay. He just took a few photos, but Johnny took care of it. Johnny, the man in blac—my bodyguard.”_ Nayeon elaborated. _“But the guy did tell me to stay away from you.”_

 _“Oh, baby.”_ Mina groans, feeling worried and extremely guilty. _“Shit.”_

 _“Yeah. And also,”_ Dropping the final bomb of the night. “ _I’m moving.”_

_“Eh?”_

***

****

**_YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR:_ **

_A week before the opening of IM Interiors Seoul branch. We’re counting down with photos of hotels, restaurants, airport lounges, and dream houses that feature the company's unique furniture designs._

***

“Wow... I mean, this is just…” Mina’s still in awe. “Wow...”

“Yeah…” Nayeon mumbles as she finishes the gyeranppang Mina brought. “Definitely a lot bigger than the pictures.”

“I think it’s a lot bigger than both our dorms combined.” 

They stand in the kitchen of Nayeon’s new place, leaning back on the breakfast counter, side by side, taking in the sight in front of them. Open space concept. They can see everything from where they’re standing—the dining area, the living room, the little foyer. State of the art home entertainment system. Thick, bullet-proof glass-wall windows. Three bedrooms. Three and a half baths. A home office. It's completely furnished, but with more than enough room for Nayeon to put her personal touch to the place.

This penthouse suite is a lot different from her cozy apartment. 

“Maybe I should move in too.” Mina jokes.

“That wouldn’t be such a bad idea.” Nayeon moves to stand in front of Mina. She puts both hands on either side, effectively trapping the girl between her body and the counter. “This is _our_ wedding gift after all.”

“Yeah?” Mina giggles, draping both arms on Nayeon’s shoulders.

“Mm-hmm.”

Nayeon takes this invitation, and steps closer to nuzzle the side of Mina's neck. Placing little kisses on her warm skin, pushing her body up against Mina, eliciting soft moans.

“You... know what I... just realised?" Mina breathes out.

"What?"

Cupping Nayeon's face, Mina makes the girl look at her. Thumbs caressing her soft cheeks, she leans, whispering. "I haven't really had my first night with you as your wife."

"We better do something about that then…" Nayeon takes a quick glance at Mina’s eyes before capturing her inviting lips.

Their kisses are deep and passionate. Taking their time. Appreciating each other's lip, mouth, tongue, taste. Mina’s hands make their way inside Nayeon’s sweatshirt, grabbing on her skin, pulling her closer. She needs more. She needs more of Nayeon. Opening her legs, she starts to grind on Nayeon’s thigh.

 _Fuck._ Feeling Mina’s nails dig into her back, Nayeon can’t help but get a little more aggressive. She pushes her knee up to Mina’s hot center, applying more pressure as she runs her tongue on her jaw, up to her sensitive ear, then down to her delicious neck. Nipping and sucking while unbuttoning Mina’s top. 

“Oh, shit…” Mina moans when she feels Nayeon’s warm mouth on her exposed chest. “Baby...”

“Hmm.” With Mina’s top discarded, Nayeon is already unzipping her pants.

“... B-bed.” 

Nayeon absolutely loves it when Mina’s voice gets so shaky that her tone gets deeper, huskier, sexier. "Works for me."

She makes her way back to her lips. And then she surprises Mina when she literally sweeps her off her feet, carrying her to their bedroom.

***

The bedroom offers a beautiful view of Seoul's city lights, but for Mina, nothing beats the beauty of witnessing Nayeon’s afterglow. 

Lying on her side, she’s propped up on one elbow, her free hand tracing the freckles on Nayeon’s nose. “You’ve stayed out in the sun for too long.” Mina smiles. “They’re cute though.”

Nayeon scrunched up her nose, giggling. Her entire body is still tingling. 

Mina scoots closer to lie on top of Nayeon, dipping her head to kiss the tattoo on her collarbone. “How many times have I told you I love this tattoo?”

“Hmm, lost count.” Nayeon mumbles.

“Then start over. I love this tattoo.” 

The Japanese girl takes her time, kissing every single inch of the tattoo when Nayeon speaks loudly. 

“Move in.”

Thinking that Nayeon was kidding, Mina brushed it off. But then, she feels the girl takes a deep breath—a sure sign that she was, in fact, not kidding. 

She looks up, seeing the look on Nayeon’s face. “Oh? Oh, you’re serious.”

“I’m your wife. And you’re mine. And I think you should move in.” 

Even though they’ve sneaked into each other’s places every time there’s a chance, there had never been a serious conversation about actually moving in together. 

“I—I can’t leave the dorm…”

“Your dorm’s just a couple of floors down. And you’re not really _leaving._ You’d just be… spending less time there.” 

“Hmm.”

Nayeon pulls Mina back down, cuddling her. “I mean, it’s not going to be different from when you sneak into my apartment. Only this time, you don’t have to drive around incognito. You just have to take the elevator.” 

Mina chews on her bottom lip, thinking. She and Nayeon both knew it wasn’t a coincidence that Jinyoung bought his sister a unit in the same building where Mina’s dorms are located.

 _Why am I even thinking about this?_ Mina sighs, pulling the covers over their bodies. “We’ll have to make a photo wall here too.”

“We’ll make a photo wall here.” _Yes!_ Nayeon chuckles, kissing the top of Mina’s head.

“And we have to get your old bed from your apartment.”

“Yup, this one’s a little too firm.”

“And you’ll make breakfast for us.”

“I’ll make breakfast for us everyda—wait... _Us_ you mean, you and Jeonghyochaeyu, right?”

Mina nods, mumbling. “And Sattang and Dahyunie.”

“Oh? Okay.” 

“Mmkay…” Yawns. “I’ll move in.”

“Okay. I’ll get you a sock drawer.”

Mina giggles lazily, eyes getting heavy. “I love you, dork.”

“I love you.” Nayeon whispers, holding Mina tighter as the girl slowly drifts to sleep. 

***

Wanting to keep her word, Nayeon got up early to make breakfast for six people—Dahyun and Sana don’t count, at least not today. She let Mina sleep some more since the girl doesn't have to be at rehearsal for at least three more hours. 

But the thing is, she hasn’t gone grocery shopping yet. 

_Ugh, just great._

She didn’t want to bother either of her best friends, because it’s Sunday and it was only 7 AM. She could go back to bed, or she could just think of something else since she’s already awake. Hmm. Where could she get coffee and breakfast that Mina would enjoy? _Of course._

Now she’s here at the lobby, waiting for the elevator to take her back to her suite after picking up the delivery from _Peaches._

The elevator arrives, and she walks in, pressing the button for her floor. Careful not to spill the food she’s carrying.

Doors are already closing when she hears someone call out. 

“Hold the door, please!”

So Nayeon shoves a foot between the doors, and the motion sensors stop it from closing. 

“Thanks.” A lanky girl in baggy clothes entered, and immediately pressed the _14_ button. 

Nayeon just smiled. 

Then the girl looks back at Nayeon, squinting. “Hey, you’re Nayeon? Right?”

The Korean finally takes a good look at the other girl. Yes, she knows her too. “Lisa?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve seen you at events many times before, but it’s great to finally meet you.” 

“… You too.” 

“Visiting her, huh?” Lisa turns to face Nayeon, leaning back on the elevator wall.

“Yeah, um, I actually live here now.” 

“Oh?” Lisa arched her eyebrow, and noticed the _P22_ button’s lit up. “Penthouse? Awesome. How’s the view from up there?”

“It’s… awesome.” Nayeon shrugs. She feels weird. 

Ding! The elevator stops at floor 14. 

“Well, this is me.” Lisa waves at Nayeon. “See you around.”

 _She lives here too?_ Nayeon frowns, wondering why Mina didn’t tell her about it. Well, Mina didn’t really have to tell her. Right?

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...  
> What do you guys think of this chapter?  
> Sana giving Irene "the talk"  
> A Namo comeback?  
> Minayeon moving in together?  
> Hmmmm

**Author's Note:**

> Scream at me over at twitter: @Lila11Lila_  
> And I'm just going to put this in here if you ever feel like buying me a kofi 😚 https://ko-fi.com/lila11


End file.
